Thicker Than Water
by ReluctantSlashFan
Summary: A long kept secret is revealed and threatens to tear two families apart...
1. Chapter 1

He was fuming, his father's words swimming around his head, as he stormed to the park. It wasn't his fault he wasn't anything like his brother. No one could compare to Jeremy, Jeremy was the perfect one. He was just the screw up.

He sniffed, kicking blindly at something on the ground, pain spiking through his foot. He looked down at what he kicked, his eye widening. He had kicked a body. A fricking body, _oh __my __God._

"Uh, mister," he said quietly, moving toward the body. Homeless people weren't uncommon around his neighborhood, and most slept in the park. One reason his mother never let him out after dark. But she was gone now, with her new family, and his dad was too busy fawning over his perfect brother to care.

"Mister," he said again, shaking the man's shoulder. The man's head lolled to the side, revealing a bullet hole. The kid's eyes widened as he looked down at his hand. He had touched a dead body…

**NCIS**

When Tony stepped off the elevator, the first thing he noticed was McGee and Ziva talking to a blond woman. He could only see the woman from behind, but he was fairly certain he had never met her. After working at NCIS for over a decade, he had come to know a lot of the personal, and that woman did not work here.

"…and Sarah comes up to me…" the woman was saying as Tony dropped his bag off at his desk. He caught McGee's eyes and the younger guy quickly cut the woman off and said, "Mom, this is Tony."

"Tony, as in DiNozzo," the woman said turning, a smile on her face; a smile that seemed to wilt just a little when her eyes landed on him. It would have been missed by someone else, but Tony noticed. He also noticed something familiar about the woman, but just couldn't put his finger on what that was exactly.

"That's me," he said quickly, breaking up the awkward few seconds. He held out his hand, smiling, "Anthony DiNozzo, but you can call me Tony."

"Cecelia McGee," Tim's mother replied shaking his hand. "Tim's told me a lot about you of course." She wasn't just talking to Tony, her green eyes flicking back to Ziva.

"So, Mrs. McGee…"

"Please, call me Cecelia," Cecelia corrected Ziva. "Mrs. McGee makes me sound old." Tim rolled his eyes at her statement.

"Cecelia," Ziva said nodding, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, Tim's birthday is next week, so his father and I decided to visit. Been trying to get Jack to come see Tim, leave that damn old car of his alone, but you know your father." She smiled at her son who nodded. The elevator opened seconds later, Gibbs stepping off with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Gear up, we've got a dead marine," he said walking past the small group. He maneuvered around his desk, took his badge and gun from his desk drawer, and straightened up in time to see his team and McGee's mother staring at him.

"McGee, tell your mother good-bye and let's go. You two," he looked at Ziva and Tony, "grab your gear." Gibbs then headed toward the elevator again.

"Does he do that a lot?" Cecelia asked curiously.

"Oh yeah," Ziva and Tony said together before hurrying after Gibbs, snatching their gear on the way. McGee soon joined them in the elevator just as the doors closed…

**NCIS**

Tony snapped a photo of Ziva, nearly blinding her. She scowled at him, trying to blink away the annoying balls of white lights dancing in her vision. Once she could see him, he gave her a sheepish grin and went back to taking pictures of the body.

"So, McGee's mother seems nice," Ziva commented scoping the ground for any evidence.

"Didn't talk to her enough to notice," Tony responded snapping another photo. "Though, she did look familiar."

"Like one of your contests," Ziva questioned spotting a couple strands of hair on the body.

"Conquests," Tony corrected automatically, Ziva rolled her eyes. "And no, nothing like that. It's just, I swear I've seen her somewhere before."

"McGee has pictures of her, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Perhaps you've seen her hanging on his wall."

"Maybe," Tony responded skeptically. He took one more picture before moving away from the body. Ziva hurriedly collected the hair just as Ducky and Palmer started towards it, the latter sneezing into his sleeve.

"Bless you, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said kneeling down next to the body, pulling on a pair of gloves.

"Thank you, Doctor Mallard," Palmer replied looking around for something to wipe his nose on. He looked at his sleeve, then at his hand, then at his sleeve again, until Ducky rolled his eyes and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

"Anticipate, Jimmy, anticipate," Ducky informed him before looking down at the body. As Gibbs approached Ducky and Palmer, Ziva and Tony wandered over to McGee who was talking to a kid and his dad.

"…found him," the kid was saying, his face pale, his eyes locked on the body. "He was just lying there and I thought he was sleeping, but he wasn't. He wasn't sleeping, he was dead."

"Is that it, Agent?" the kid's father asked and McGee nodded, closing his notebook. As the two walked away, Tim turned to his co-worker and said, "Kid found the body around two this morning, while walking through the park."

"What was he doing out so late?" Ziva questioned watching the retreating figures of the father and son.

"He didn't say," McGee responded just as Gibbs beckoned them over to him. They moved across the grass, stopping next to their boss.

"What'd the kid say?" he asked and as McGee went over the kid's statement, Ziva and Tony began packing up.

"I am sure it will come back to you," Ziva said as she followed Tony to the van.

"What?" he asked turning to look at her.

"Where you've seen McGee's mother," she responded opening the back door.

"Yeah, maybe," he replied with a smile. "Besides, I doubt it's even important. Maybe she's just another face in the crowd…"

**NCIS**

When Tony got home that night, he had all but forgotten McGee's mother. It had been a long, long day. They managed to find the marine's killer, his wife having murdered him after finding out he slept with her sister. Tony knew it was the wife all along, but they still had to investigate. Gibbs went off hunches, sure, but Tony was well aware of the number of times he pointed the finger at the wife/husband. It wasn't his fault he was right fifty percent of the time.

He was getting ready to make dinner, or order dinner (yeah, like he was going to cook), and headed toward his takeout drawer only to stop next to his fridge. He wasn't a magnet type guy, his fridge nearly bare, but he did keep a few things on the door.

One was a picture of him and his mother, held on the door by an Ohio State magnet. He had to be six or seven. She was hugging him close, both watching television, neither aware their picture was being taken. If he wasn't mistaken, his father had taken the picture.

The other was a magnet Abby made him. She made one for everyone on the team, each magnet looking like its owner. The magnet held a photo of the whole team, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer. Abby liked to call it their family portrait. Tony smiled at the picture, shaking his head. He turned towards the drawer only to stop again, his eyes settling on the last photo. It was had been placed in one of those magnetized frames, depicting him and one of his nannies.

She was one of the last ones he had before his father sent him to boarding school and by far his favorite. She was hired about a month after his mother died, had helped him through a lot, and was with him for a little over a year before she was fired. He never knew the exact details, but one moment she was there and the next she was telling him good-bye.

He moved closer to the photo, taking it off the fridge, looking down at the woman. She was standing next to Tony, both in the kitchen, covered in flour, making cake. He was smiling, she was laughing. The photo had been taken when he was nine, but he couldn't remember by whom. But the photo didn't mattered, what mattered was he had seen that woman. He had seen her today, talking to his co-workers. She was McGee's mother…

**NCIS**

**1976…**

Tony was sitting in his room, looking out the window at the taxi that had just pulled into their driveway. He had heard his father on the phone, talking to someone about getting a new nanny for him. Since his mother died, his dad had been trying to find someone to take care of Tony while he worked.

Tony would have been okay with his father taking care of him, but Anthony Senior hadn't given him much thought. It had been almost a month, Tony was still hurting, and he missed his mother. Why couldn't his father see that? And why was the older man trying to replace his mother with someone else?

Shaking his head, he watched as a woman got out of the taxi. Her blond hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and she was wearing jeans and a green shirt. His friend James' nanny didn't dress like that, she always had a dress on and her hair was always in a tight ball. She was also mean, making Tony wonder if this woman was going to be mean, too. At least if she was mean he'd have no problem avoiding her.

After the woman disappeared into the house, along with his father, Tony heard his father call, "Anthony, get down here!"

Tony dragged himself to his feet, moving toward the door. He opened it, heading toward the stairs. He walked down them, stopping just at the foot. The woman smiled down at him, her green eyes catching the light, and said, "You must be Tony." He nodded. "Well, Tony, I'm Cecelia Nelson." She held out her hand.

"Take her hand, Junior," Senior said giving Cecelia a small smile. Tony did as he was told, shaking the woman's hand, noting how soft it was, almost like his mother's, but her hand was not his mother's. He hurriedly let the woman's hand go.

"I have to go to work," Senior said moving towards the door. "Behave, Junior." He said pointing at his son and then he was gone.

Tony still stood at the foot of the stairs, looking anywhere but at Cecelia, shuffling his feet. Cecelia took a breath and said, "Are you hungry, Tony?" he nodded, still not looking at her. "Well, what do you want to eat?"

"I get to pick?" he whispered meeting her eyes. He never got to pick what he wanted; usually eating whatever was given to him. The only time he got to pick what they ate was pancake Sundays, but that was only his and his mother's day. And this lady was not his mother. He realized she was probably just trying to be nice to him. "That's okay," he hurriedly said, not wanting her to be nice. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Are you sure?" her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go play," he said and ran up the steps…

**NCIS**

**Present Day…**

It was his dad's idea, inviting all his co-workers out to dinner. McGee wasn't sure how good of an idea that was, him and his father had barely started rebuilding their relationship, he didn't want his team around in case there was a setback. He really didn't want Abby or Tony seeing a fight between him and his dad. Abby would try to be too supportive while Tony would make things worse by trying to be nice to him.

But he wasn't one to disobey his father, no matter his worries, so he invited his friends to dinner. As much as he wished they'd all duck out, everyone agreed to go, even Gibbs. What was more surprising, or maybe it wasn't Tim wasn't sure, was how readily Tony jumped at the invitation. Thinking about it, it wasn't much of a surprise really, it would just give DiNozzo fuel for his teasing when the stories of Tim's childhood came up.

McGee left his apartment about eight-thirty. He kind of wished Penny would be there, but his grandmother was out of the country for the next few months, so he was expecting his mother to be the buffer between him and his father. She did fairly well on her own, but McGee usually went to Penny after a huge fight.

He arrived at the restaurant just as Tony did. They walked toward the door together, neither one saying a word. It wasn't from lack of trying either; Tim just couldn't get his usually chatty friend to say anything.

Once inside, Tim spotting his family sitting at a table in the back, Abby and Ziva already with them, both headed toward the party. Tony made it a point to sit next to Ziva, allowing Tim to take the chair next to his mother. McGee didn't care where Tony sat, but the look Ziva flashed DiNozzo got his attention.

But before he could say anything, his father said, "So, I finally get to meet Jethro Gibbs."

"Yeah, Dad," Tim responded meeting his dad's dark brown eyes. Jack McGee was tall, six-six or something, with graying, dark brown hair. Sarah took after him more in looks than Tim did; McGee looked more like his mother. He used to study his father, try to find something they had in common, but unless stubbornness suddenly became a facial feature, he could never find anything. Penny always swore there was something in the noses, but Tim never saw it.

Gibbs and Ducky showed up a few moments later, McGee's father getting to his feet at Gibbs' arrival. They studied each other for a tense few seconds, sizing each other up, before Jack held his hand out and said, "Jack McGee."

"Jethro Gibbs," Gibbs replied taking the other man's hand. They released each others' grips a few seconds later and Gibbs took a seat between Ducky and Abby.

Dinner started out fine, Gibbs and Jack mostly talking about their military backgrounds. Neither one opened up enough to share war stories, but the fact that they were talking showed they didn't hate each other. And it kept Jack's attention off McGee for the time being, something the younger guy appreciated.

It was during dessert when things started getting weird. Tony, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, looked up at McGee's mother and said, "You know, something had been bugging me about you."

"What?" Cecelia commented looking up from her plate. Something flickered across her eyes, something McGee couldn't pinpoint. "What was bugging you?"

"Tony, do you think it's wise to bring this up?" Ziva whispered but Tony ignored her and continued speaking:

"Yeah, I thought I saw you somewhere, but couldn't quite pinpoint your face…"

"Tony, what…?" McGee started just as Cecelia threw her napkin on her plate and stood up.

"Can I talk to you," she said fixing Tony with a hard stare, the younger guy cocking an eyebrow.

"Ce, what's going on?" Jack asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"Nothing, Jack," Cecelia answered before moving towards the bathrooms. Tony stood up and followed her, McGee torn between getting up and following or staying put. He opted to stay seated, and if they didn't return in a few minutes he'd go find them. That didn't mean he wasn't confused as hell. It seemed Tony knew Tim's mother, he just couldn't figure out how…

**NCIS**

Tony followed McGee's mother towards the short hallway that held the bathrooms. He hadn't meant to cause a scene, just trip her up and make her admit she knew him, but something he had said triggered Cecelia.

"He told you didn't he?" she snapped stopping short, turning to face him.

"I… what?" Tony stepped back a few steps.

"Your father," she said quickly beginning to pace back and forth. "I knew I recognized you the moment I saw you. I'm figuring you recognized me, too. And I bet he told you."

"Told me...?"

"I mean, whatever he told you to the contrary is a load of bull. I never tried to get a dime out of him, in fact when he told me to get out I did just that. I knew I shouldn't have left you, but…"

"What are you…?"

"And the fact that there was a kid involved…"

"Whoa, hang on…" Now she was losing Tony. He just wanted to tell her he knew who she was, that he remembered her being his nanny. Maybe give McGee shit for knowing his mother before he did. This was going in a direction Tony wasn't expecting. "What kid?"

"Wait, you don't know?" she questioned stopping, giving him a confused look. "Then why all the questions?"

"I wanted to make McGee…" Tony shook his head. "What kid?" he demanded getting back on the subject at hand, pushing her distraction away. "Whose kid?" What the hell was she talking about?

"It doesn't matter, it was a long…"

"No, no, no," Tony said shaking his head again. "What kid?" did he have a sibling? Did his father and Cecelia…?

Cecelia looked down at the floor, running a hand through her hair. She took a breath, looked up to meet his eyes, and said, "Tim is your brother…"

**NCIS**

**OK, I am sure this story has been done to death. But this plot has been bugging me for a while, I mean seriously every time I'd go to sit down and write, it would rear up and say 'Pick me, pick me.' So, that is why I am writing this.**

**I am not sure how long it is going to be, but I can tell you this won't be a short story... or I'll try not to make it short. I am not sure if it'll be a case fic just yet, but if it does turn into one I'll let you know a head of time.**

**So, I'm gonna go.**

**Thanks for reading, I do not own these characters, and let me know what you think.**

**PEACE OUT...**


	2. Chapter 2

Tony stood stock still, letting Cecelia's words wash over him. He had a brother. He _had _a brother. Tim fricking McGee was his brother. That was impossible, it had to be.

"No, no, no," Tony replied shaking his head back and forth. "Someone is screwing with me, right? Ziva or Abby…?" he turned in a half circle, looking for them. "They put you up to this didn't they? Come out guys!" he called debating whether or not to check the bathrooms for them. When neither one showed their faces, laughing, Tony repeated, "Come out, now!" Still no one appeared.

He slowly turned to look at Cecelia again, the woman's face grim. He ran his hands down his face and said, "You and my father…?"

"Yes."

"And McGee…?" he pointed behind him, vaguely gesturing towards the table.

"Yeah."

"And your husband…?"

"Knows, of course," she finished nodding, looking down at her hands.

"Oh my, God," Tony whispered running his hands through his hair, covering his face; he wasn't hearing this, he couldn't be hearing this, this wasn't true. He dropped his hands, meeting Cecelia's eyes. "Does _my_ father know?"

Something akin to bitterness flickered across Cecelia's face. She took a breath, let it out, and slowly said, "He knows. He doesn't know _who_ his other son is, but he knows he has another child. I told him."

"Are you sure Tim is his?" Tony didn't mean to ask, but his father had been with plenty of women, nearly two times as many as Tony, there had to be a pregnancy claim or two in that long history.

Cecelia shot him a hard look, one Tony vaguely remembered from his childhood, and snapped, "You sound just like him, accusing me of sleeping with every man under the sun." she blew out a breath, her features softening just a smidgen, and said, "I am positive Tim is his, he was the only man I slept with around that time, and I couldn't exactly give either a DNA test back then, since not many people had heard of them."

"That's why you left, isn't it?" Realization dawned on DiNozzo. If he did the math correctly (though he could be off by a few days, it had been over thirty years ago), Cecelia left sometime in March, making her almost three months pregnant. She had to of met Jack McGee not long after that. Though, they must have lied to their children when asked when they met. McGee was too smart for them to tell him the truth.

"I am over thinking this," Tony muttered getting a confused look from Cecelia. He shook his head and said, "Did my dad threaten you?" he may have been getting along better with his dad recently, but he wasn't blind to how his father used to be; especially when the man had knocked back a few scotches.

"No, he didn't threaten me," she replied with a sigh. "I just, I saw his true colors and couldn't allow my son to be raised by that. And it killed me to leave you there, it really did, but I didn't have proof of how big of a bastard he was. It was my word against his…"

Tony rubbed his forehead, a headache forming from all the information being hurtled at him. He needed a stiff drink and time to process all this. And McGee, what did he tell McGee? Because he had to tell him, it was only fair. Though, telling him wasn't exactly helping, but to lie about this. Tony was supposed to be his friend.

"Please, Tony, don't tell Tim," Cecelia begged, almost as if she read his mind.

"Don't tell him?" DiNozzo barked, lowering his hand. "How can I _not_ tell him! The fact that you lied to him his entire life doesn't mean I…"

"He and his father already have a rocky past, Tony. This won't help one bit," Cecelia argued, her face hard. "Tim resents Jack for his expectations, but it was only because Jack didn't want Tim to grow up like…"

"Like what, our dad? In case you haven't noticed, Cecelia, I _grew __up_ around my dad and haven't turned into him." Though not exactly a lie, that wasn't entirely true, either. For several years Tony would turn to alcohol when upset, still did on occasion, and he flirted with more women than he could count. Though, to be fair, he had toned down the flirting in the recent years. But he wasn't going to tell her that.

He took a breath, and continued calmly, "Look, I don't blame you for keeping McGee from my father, when he was younger. I mean, he shouldn't have had kids back then, but to lie to Tim. From the get go…"

"What was I supposed to do, Tony?"

"Tell him the truth! Tell him his rotten bastard of a father didn't want him!" Tony exclaimed throwing his hands in the air. "God knows, after my mother died, he didn't want me…" Tony trailed off, running a hand through his hair.

Before Cecelia could respond, her face paper white, they heard someone clear their throat. Both turned, noticing Gibbs standing in the archway separating the main room from the bathrooms. His eyebrows were raised slightly, and he just barely managed to school his features, wiping the surprise off his face. Tony had a feeling he wasn't surprised about Senior not wanting him, Gibbs was well aware of that fact.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jethro asked looking between the two.

"No, Agent Gibbs," Cecelia said swiping at her eyes. "We're done." She briefly met Tony's eyes before stalking back to the table.

Tony and Gibbs were quiet for a few seconds, the former avoiding the latter's eyes. The younger guy took a breath, looked up, and quietly said, "I've got to tell him boss." He was assuming Gibbs knew what they were talking about, if the brief glimpse of surprise was any indication.

"It's entirely your decision, DiNozzo," Gibbs responding confirming what Tony already suspected. "But," there was always a 'but', "I don't think it's your secret to tell."

As much as Tony hated to admit it, Gibbs _was_ right. This was Cecelia's and Jack's secret to tell, he had no say since he wasn't McGee's parent. He was just his brother. He _was __his_ brother. He had a little brother. And it was the same man he _already_ considered a little brother.

He had always wanted a brother. Someone who he could protect and look out for, who was there when he needed him, someone he could trust; McGee was already that a majority of the time. As overwhelming as it was, all this stuff thrown at him, a small part of Tony felt elated. Of course, the anger and confusion trumped that feeling.

He suddenly needed to call his father, talk to him. Leaving Gibbs standing by the bathrooms, he walked into the dining room. He maneuvered around tables and people, heading toward his table, noticing the look of uncertainty cross Cecelia's face.

He paid her no attention, grabbed his jacket, and made it a point to force some pleasantries and thank Jack and Tim for inviting him. Ignoring the questioning looks from his friends and the McGees, he walked out of the restaurant…

**NCIS**

Ziva stood outside of Tony's apartment. She wanted to know what was going on with him, having an inkling it had something to do with Cecelia McGee and where he had seen her. Her fist was inches from his door, ready to knock, when his voice made her freeze.

He wasn't shouting exactly, but whoever he was talking to had pissed him off. Quietly as she could, Ziva turned the knob and slipped in. She closed the door behind her, leaning against the wood, with her arms crossed, watching Tony.

"Just wondering when you were going to tell me, Dad," Tony snapped into his phone. He listened for a few seconds, "Well, she's fairly certain you were the only guy she slept with…" Ziva's interest peaked at that statement. Tony's dad slept with someone, sometime, and something had happened. As Abby would say 'there's something hinky going on.'

"No, I am not going to ask him to take a blood test." Tony listened a second. "Because a) he doesn't know about any of this and b) it'd be a little tacky for him to find out when his long lost brother asks for a blood test to confirm that he is, in fact, his long lost brother." Ziva eyes widened at what she had just heard. There was potentially another DiNozzo out there.

Tony looked up at the ceiling, sighing in frustration, running his hand down his face. "I just don't understand why you never told me, Dad. I mean, I know you didn't know _who_ it was, but to keep this…" Ziva figured Senior asked Tony why he cared because the next words out of DiNozzo's mouth were, "Because he's my brother.

"No, Dad, stay in New York. You'll only make things worse." He sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, bye." He snapped his phone shut, tossing it onto his couch, resting his hands on the back of his head. He took several deep breaths, pacing back and forth, muttering inaudible words.

It was during his third trek across his living room floor when he actually spotted Ziva. He froze with a 'deer caught in the headlights' type expression on his face. It was a quiet few seconds before he lowered his hands and slowly asked, "Been there long?"

"Long enough," Ziva responded truthfully, pushing herself away from the wall. "So, you have a brother?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Tony muttered flopping down on his couch. Ziva crossed the room, taking a seat next to him. She waited, he stared at the television, she crossed her arms, his jaw tensed, and she continued to stare at him. The moment he broke, she couldn't help the small smirk:

"Thirty-three years, almost thirty-three years," he said quietly, keeping his eyes locked on his television screen. "I mean I'm not surprised my father never told me, probably slipped his mind. Today I most likely reminded him. But…" he trailed off, his jaw tensing again.

"Is it McGee?" it didn't take a genius to connect the dots. Tony had sworn he had seen or met McGee's mother before yesterday. Cecelia could have easily been an old girlfriend of Tony's father thirty-three years ago, gotten pregnant, told him, and left when he didn't react the way she expected.

Tony's silence confirmed Ziva's question. She nodded once before saying, "His mother and father hid this from him, yes?"

"Yep."

"And I am thinking his mother has asked you not to tell him."

"Uh huh."

"But you want to tell him." she noticed the flicker of surprise cross his face, but it was gone a second later. He sighed, ran his hands through his hair, and stood up. "I could use a drink," he announced walking towards his door. "Do you wanna come?"

Ziva knew she wasn't going to get anything else out of him. At least, not sober, and she knew that wasn't going to happen tonight. It was a weeknight, Tony didn't get drunk on work nights, and Gibbs would surely ring his neck if he did. Still, she agreed to go. He needed a friend right now. Though, as she followed Tony out of his apartment, she couldn't help thinking that when the truth came out (because it was bound to now that a third party… fourth party… a new person knew) that McGee would need a friend more…

**NCIS**

McGee's suspicions were not appeased after dinner. In fact, they grew when his mother suggested he take Sarah home. He knew she knew he wanted to question her thoroughly about what happened between her and Tony. She rarely hid things from him, but when she did she always pawned Sarah off on him. What better way to avoid answering his questions than to make him watch his little sister. She did the same thing when he was eleven and came back from math camp to find his hamster missing.

He attempted to protest, even followed her out to hers and his dad's rental car, but she refused to even speak to him. His father merely shrugged before getting in the car and driving back to their motel.

"That was weird," Sarah commented coming up behind him.

"Very," he agreed nodding, turning to look at her. "You think she knows Tony?"

"Duh," Sarah replied before turning and walking towards McGee's Porsche.

"What does that mean?" he questioned chasing after her.

"Oh, come on Tim, think about it," Sarah retorted turning to look at him. "He brings up seeing her somewhere, she totally freaks out, and both disappear for nearly ten minutes. Then he comes back, trying to hide his anger, and leaves.

"Jeez, I thought you were an investigator," she continued sarcastically. He glared at her, shaking his head.

"You don't think…?" McGee started hating himself for asking, worry griping his stomach. Would his mother ever stoop that low, cheat on his father, with Tony of all people?

"Ugh, no." Sarah pushed him lightly, moving towards his car again. "I doubt they ever had…" she shivered involuntarily. "How could you even think that?"

"You implied it," Tim pointed out making her stop again.

"I did not," she argued turning to look at him a second time. "I implied that they probably talked, Mom said something Tony didn't like, and Tony took off."

"Logically, that sounds like they had a relationship," McGee pointed out slowly, trying to staunch his worry, his mind almost incapable of wrapping around the theory. It was ludicrous, unthinkable, and borderline disgusting.

"Stop thinking about it," Sarah snapped before turning her back on him.

"I wasn't," McGee lied pathetically slowly following her.

"A) You suck at lying and b) I saw the look on your face. You were thinking about it."

"Look, Sarah, something strange is going on. I doubt it was anything romantic, but Tony does know Mom."

"How?" Sarah questioned settling her elbow on Tim's car and resting her chin on her arm. Her eyebrows were raised, waiting for him to respond.

Tim was quiet for a second, fiddling with the keys he had just taken out of his pocket, but finally he met her brown eyes and said, "I don't know, but I intend to find out…"

**NCIS**

**I promise McGee finds out in the next chapter :D**

**Anyway, thanks for reading the last chapter. All reviews, alerts, and favs are really appreciated, and I own nothing.**

**Drop me a comment if you can and I will see you in chapter three.**

**PEACE OUT...**

**P.S. I will try to avoid a 'Tim gets drunk' scene. Unless you guys want one. But I feel there have been a lot of scenes written where McGee gets drunk when something is bothering him. Regardless of what I do, I do have two scenes in mind. I guess we'll see :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Tony didn't want to go to work. He would have to face McGee, and he wasn't sure he could act nonchalant around him. It also didn't help that he wasn't the only one who knew Cecelia's secret. He, Ziva, and Gibbs would be better off making a banner to hang over McGee's desk stating: _Jack __McGee __is no__t __your __father; __your __mother __lied __to __you._

Tony shook his head, tightening his tie. He just had to suck it up, and hope he didn't say something to tip Tim off. He could do this; it wasn't the first time he kept something from his teammates. Though, after the whole Jeanne situation and the EJ/Cain fiasco he kind of swore off keeping secrets.

And it wasn't like Cecelia didn't deserve to have her secret exposed. She chose to lie to Tim; she chose the path her life took. Though, exposing this secret wasn't just going to affect her. It would affect Jack, Sarah, and most of all Tim. It could destroy an entire family. And Tony couldn't do that, he wouldn't do that. Not to McGee, no matter how much Cecelia pissed him off.

So, he headed to work, fully intending to just do his job, and treat this day like any other day. Of course, what he wasn't counting on was McGee sitting at _his _desk, in _his_ chair, waiting for him.

When Tony stepped off the elevator, he froze at the sight. Tim had his arms crossed, a determined look on his face. Tony continued toward his desk, slowly, and stopped in front of it. He smiled and said, "What are you doing, McSeatstealer?" okay, it wasn't his best nickname, but he had a lot on his mind, sue him.

"What's going on between you and my mom?" Tim asked ignoring the nickname Tony gave him. On the inside DiNozzo flinched, but outward he just smiled and opted to play dumb: "What are you talking about, McCurious?"

"Don't play dumb with me, DiNozzo," McGee said getting to his feet. "You say something, she freaks, you two leave the table, and she comes back and won't talk to me. Then you come back, pissed off, and leave, barely saying anything. It's obvious something happened between you two, and I am starting to think it's…" McGee trailed off, but Tony understood what he was implying.

"It was nothing like that, Tim," Tony said hurriedly. He knew McGee wasn't going to let this go. Had it been a few years ago, when Tony could just raise his voice and give Tim his best 'Gibbs' face, McGee would have_ easily_ let it go. But now, Tim just wasn't afraid of Tony anymore. So, DiNozzo did the one thing he didn't want to do: he lied.

"She was my nanny." Or half-truthed. Was that even a word, truthed? Tony didn't know, and regardless it didn't make him feel any better. But Cecelia wanted him to keep this from Tim, so that's what Tony was doing.

"Your nanny?" McGee questioned skeptically, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, nanny." Tim still had a doubtful look on his face. "You don't believe me? Fine, her maiden name is Nelson, she has a younger brother, her parents are named Adrian and Georgia…"

"Enough digging could have gotten you that information, Tony," Tim pointed out impatiently. "You're just doing this because…"

"When she gets annoyed she does this thing with her head. You know, cocks it to the side, and she purses her lips. I've seen you do it a couple times. And when she's trying to do something, and her hair keeps falling into her face, she ties it back with the first thing she can get her hands on: Pens, rubber bands, a butter knife..." Tony was surprised he could even remember this stuff, it had been three decades ago. "And when she's trying to avoid you, she tries to distract you." Had it been any other day, Tony would have been laughing at the dumbfound look on McGee's face.

But, today, DiNozzo just couldn't bring himself to laugh. Instead, he just walked around his desk and said, "Now, would you please move to your own desk so I can sit at mine." He tried to push past McGee, but Tim hurriedly snapped back to life and held him back.

"That still doesn't explain why you left in a hurry last night, pissed off." Crap, so he hadn't been as inconspicuous as usual. He silently berated himself, skimming his list of lies. That was the only thing he could do at this point: lie through his teeth.

He hated lying to his team, his family. Every time he did, he felt dirty and wrong afterward. And this time would be no different. In fact, it'd probably be worse. He was lying to his brother, his own flesh and blood.

"She started in on my dad," he started hating himself more and more. "She, uh, she wouldn't listen to me when I told he was trying to change, had gotten a little better." He chuckled humorlessly, "Of course, it's not like I'm surprised." And he left it at that, continuing towards his chair. McGee turned, no doubt wanting to say something, but the arrival of Ziva cut him off.

He spared Tony one, final look before walking back to his desk and sitting down. Ziva offered him a small smile before letting her eyes settle on DiNozzo.

Last night, Tony hadn't been counting on Ziva showing up at his apartment. He hadn't counted on her finding any of this out until it came out. But she did. His freaky little ninja surprised him, something that had occurred less and less the longer she was in the states.

Though, if Tony really thought about it, it wasn't _that_ surprising. Ziva was known to pop up at the most random times, and usually when he wanted to be alone; most of the time when he was trying to use the bathroom.

When they went to the bar, neither one had talked very much. Tony just nursed a beer all night while Ziva sat next to him, in silent support, but both had agreed on one thing. When McGee found out, because he was bound to now that so many people knew, they'd be there for him. Or, as much as he'd allow. Which probably wouldn't be a lot if his DiNozzo blood had anything to say about it.

Or was that because of upbringing? DiNozzo rule number nine had always been: No bitching. Of course, McGee had never really been forth coming with his feelings in the past. Tony would just have to wait and see if this time would be any different.

Gibbs' arrival shut up any other personal thoughts. Though, Tony couldn't help noticing, Gibbs had let his eyes linger on DiNozzo and McGee a second long than usual. No doubt, he was trying to find anything similar about them, anything that made them brothers.

If Tony studied Tim long enough, he could see the DiNozzo chin. Their eyes were only a shade or two apart, the green color coming from Great Grandma DiNozzo's side of the family. Not to mention the back problems. Tony recalled McGee complaining about it when he was forced to sleep on Ziva's couch while his apartment building was being fumigated. Tony was the same way if he didn't sleep on a certain type of surface. If Tony wasn't mistaken, the bad back came from Grandpa DiNozzo's side of the family.

"Hey, DiNozzo!" an annoyed voice called, snapping Tony back to reality. DiNozzo blinked a couple times, noticing Gibbs looking at him while Ziva stood over him. McGee still sat at his desk, but he was looking at Tony like he had grown a second head. It was then that Tony realized he had been staring at Tim way too long.

"Yeah, boss," he said looking toward Gibbs. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Ziva hurriedly putting her hand down, almost as if she were going to slap him.

"Stop staring at McGee," Gibbs said before looking down at the files he had been looking through.

"Sorry, boss," Tony replied turning his attention to his computer. Ziva leaned against his desk, crossing her arms. Her eyes flicked to McGee, who was only paying half-attention to his work. The other half was focused on Tony, probably waiting to see if DiNozzo was going to stare at him again.

"Can I help you, Agent David?" Tony questioned meeting her brown eyes.

"No," she replied shrugging.

"As much as I enjoy your company, I really need my desk," he said smiling up at her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she pushed away from his desk and wandered back to hers.

The bullpen lapsed into silence, each agent working on paperwork or reports. Except Tony, who found his mind wandering and his eyes straying, studying the rest of the team. Twice Gibbs had gotten up to get coffee, McGee got three phone calls from Abby, and Ziva sneezed six times. He figured if he paid attention to his team, he wouldn't have to think about what he was keeping from his friend, his brother.

He very nearly let his worries go, just for a few hours, when the elevator opened around eleven. He looked up from his opened desk drawer, having been looking for a pen, to see Cecelia walking toward the bullpen, accompanied by an agent.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" McGee asked looking up from his computer. For a second, Tony almost stood up and announced, '_Ask __her __about __your __father, __McGee. __Ask __her.__'_ He must had had a look on his face because Cecelia flashed him a worried look and Gibbs stood up and said, "DiNozzo, with me."

Tony narrowed his eyes, but still pushed himself to his feet and followed Gibbs toward the elevator. As Gibbs pressed the call button, DiNozzo heard Cecelia say, "I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch…"

The doors opened, Gibbs beckoned Tony to get on, and he followed closely on his heels. He pressed one of the buttons, the doors closing on McGee and Ziva watching them while Cecelia made a point to _not _look their way.

Unlike usual, Gibbs didn't stop the elevator, but let it go to the first floor. When the doors opened, he ushered Tony to get off. The younger man furrowed his eyebrows but did as he was instructed.

"Where are we going boss?" he asked curiously, following the older man to his car.

"Just get in," Gibbs responded nodding toward the passenger seat. Cocking an eyebrow, Tony obliged. He knew why Gibbs was taking him on this 'field trip.' The where would just have to wait, and Tony hated waiting…

**NCIS**

McGee agreed to go to lunch with his mother. As much as he didn't want to believe it, Tony _knew_ his mother. She was a nanny when she was younger, using the job to pay her way through school, and could have easily been hired on by the DiNozzo's. She and Tony could have talked about their past last night, sure, but, after what happened in the bullpen, McGee knew there was more to it than simply his mother bashing on Tony's father. Had it just been Tony's father, his mother would never have reacted to Tony as she had today.

She hadn't looked angry or annoyed or even supportive, she had looked worried. McGee's mother wasn't a worrier. She liked to face her problems head on. Never before had he seen her act like that around anyone. Something more had happened between her and Tony last night, and this was his chance to question his mother.

They parked out front of a diner a few blocks from the naval yard. McGee noticed how quiet his mom was being. Like Sarah, he couldn't remember the last time she had _ever_ been this quiet. It was kind of unnerving.

He followed his mother into the diner, taking a seat in one of the booths. She sat across from him, looking down at her hands. This was a side to of her McGee had ever seen, and he hated it. He cleared his throat, offering a small smile to the waitress as she set menus and water down at their table. Once she wandered away, McGee looked at his mother and said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered too quickly, still not looking at him.

"Mom, come on." His worry was gnawing at his stomach, leaving him feeling sick. "What's going on? Did Tony say something to you?" she sniffed, shaking her head. "Mom, seriously, what happened last night?"

"I love you," she said quietly, sniffing again, taking him by surprise.

"Okay," he replied furrowing his eyebrows. "Why are you…?"

"I just, I never wanted any of this to happen." She ran her hands across her face, scrubbing at her eyes, catching tears that Tim hadn't noticed earlier.

"What are you talking…?"

"Your father and I talked last night, Tim," she continued cutting him off. "After I talked to Tony." She nodded, looking up to meet his eyes. McGee couldn't help wondering if the nanny thing was a load of bull. Maybe Tony and his mother did...

Tim cut the thought off, stamping it out before it could grow. It wasn't possible, his mother never cheated on his father. She would never do anything like that, not to their family. "Tim," she said softly, getting McGee's attention. He looked up, breaking free of his downward spiral, readying himself for the final blow. If his mother and Tony…

"Jack McGee is not your father…"

"Wait, what?" Tim said furrowing his eyebrows again. What did she say to him? Did he just hear her right?

"Jack is not your father," his mother repeated looking down at her hands again. "Anthony DiNozzo is…"

**NCIS**

**OK, there will be more flashbacks in the next chapter, an better explanation as to why Cecelia decided to tell McGee, and probably a Tony/Tim moment... I haven't decided yet.**

**Anyway, I know it's probably not how you guys pictured McGee finding out, and at one point I wanted to have him find out on his birthday, surrounded by everyone, but this came out instead. My mind is constantly changing itself, it's a wonder I get anything done.**

**Anyhoo, thanks so much for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. They were awesome and I can't thank you enough.**

**So, I own nothing, thanks again for reading, and drop a comment if you can :D**

**PEACE OUT...**


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs had driven Tony to his favorite coffee cart, several blocks away from the naval yard. It was the same one he and Fornell frequented during the times they worked together.

DiNozzo stood awkwardly by the cart, unsure if he should order anything or not. Gibbs rarely bought coffee for his team, and usually when he did someone had either died, gotten injured, or helped him out. Tony hadn't done any of the three. He was just pissed off at his brother's mother.

"Are ya going to get something or are we going to stand here all day?" Gibbs' voice startled him back to reality. He turned, his boss watching him, and slowly shook his head. Gibbs turned back to the coffee cart guy, paid him, and led Tony to a bench.

They sat down, shoulders barely touching, neither saying a word. Tony ran his hands down his thighs, tapping his knees with his palms. He sucked in a breath and said, "It's nice here, boss. Kind of see why you and Fornell come here." Gibbs didn't respond, just took a sip of coffee. "I mean, there are some trees, a fountain, people…" he trailed off, realizing just how awkward he sounded.

For a while, they just watched the people walk by, back and forth, going about their days. _They _didn't have their lives tipped upside down. _They_ weren't keeping a secret from their family. _They_ were lucky bastards.

"It wouldn't be so bad if she'd just let me tell him," Tony blurted out, his hands stilling and bunching up into fists. "I mean, I know, you know, Ziva knows…" he shook his head. "All these people know this life changing secret, and the one guy who should know, who _needs _to know, doesn't…

"And I know, I know, it's not my secret to tell. But who else is going to tell him? I, sure as hell, doubt his mother will…" Tony's phone rang, cutting him off. He pulled it from his pocket, the screen flashing an unknown number back at him, and cautiously he answered, "Hello?"

"Tony?" he knew that voice.

"Sarah?" Why would Sarah McGee be calling him? And how the hell did she get him number?

"Have you seen Tim?" she asked, or more like demanded. Tony could picture her pacing across her floor, probably running a hand through her dark hair, worried about her brother. She really didn't have to be, last Tony checked their mother had offered to take Tim out to lunch. Plus, he was a trained agent, he could take care of himself.

"I thought he was having lunch with your mother," DiNozzo stated slowly, something nudging at his gut.

"Yeah, he was, but Mom just called and told me he took off. She can't get a hold of him, he won't answer his cell when _I_ call, and I'm beginning to get worried. Can you try calling him?"

"Relax, Sarah, I'll give him a call and call you right back. Okay?" She agreed and Tony hung up. He ignored the questioning looks Gibbs threw his way and tried McGee's cell. It rang three times before going straight to voicemail. Tony hung up and tried again, this time the call went directly to voicemail.

"Hey, McMissing, it's Tony. I'm figuring you are either at the office or aren't near your phone. Call me." he hung up, the nudging in his gut getting worse. Maybe Cecelia told him. The idea was reaching, Tony remembering that she was against telling Tim. In fact, she was against anything even remotely close to revealing this secret to her only son. Of course, she could have changed her mind, but a part of DiNozzo seriously doubted that fact.

Just to be on the safe side, Tony scrolled through his recent calls and hit send on Sarah's number. She answered on the first ring: "Did you find him?"

"No. Did your mom tell you why Tim took off?"

"No, she just said they talked, he got upset, and left her at the diner. Dad had to go get her since Tim was her ride. They are looking for him…" she trailed off.

"Sarah, do you know where Tim would go? You know, when he gets upset?" Tony may have worked with McGee for nine years, may know that he liked to write when he couldn't sleep and video games were his life, but, he had to admit, he didn't know the younger guy as well as he thought. And if Cecelia did what Tony thought she would never do (_that __made __more __sense __in __my __head) _then McGee definitely went somewhere he was most comfortable.

"He'd usually go to Penny, but she's out of the country." She was quiet for a second, thinking, and finally took a breath and said, "When we lived in California, he'd go to the arcade, but I don't think…" Tony stopped listening to her. It was a long shot, Tim could have easily gone home or back to the naval yard. He could be sulking down in Abby's lab, refusing to speak to her, and she'd be calling Tony any second to complain about being ignored.

Again, he was reaching, but it was better than thinking about his thirty-three-year-old co-worker hanging out at an arcade by himself. It was a quarter to two, kids were still in school. Though, it would be less creepy empty, less pedophile-ish. However, as much as he wanted to call Abby, his gut told him Tim wasn't with her. He'd have to go to the arcade.

"I think I know where he is, Sarah," Tony said cutting her off.

"Where?"

"I'll let you know when I find him," he responded ignoring her question. She would be irritated, sure, but he didn't need her attacking her brother so soon after he found out his life was a lie; if that is what, in fact, happened because jumping to conclusions wasn't helping anything.

"Do you know what my mother said to Tim?" Sarah asked. Instead of answering, Tony just hung up on her. He didn't have time to explain to her what was going on, nor was it his place to explain. This was a conversation the McGees had to have together.

He stood up, only to be yanked back onto the bench. He glanced over, Gibbs giving him a slightly impatient look. Tony sucked in a breath and said, "I think she told him." Gibbs waited, knowing DiNozzo had more to say. "And I'm guessing he didn't take it well." Jethro flashed Tony a look clearly stating: '_what __gave __you __that __idea, __DiNozzo_?' At first DiNozzo was surprised Gibbs managed to get a majority of the details, but if Tony thought about, the conversation between Sarah and him wasn't that hard to piece together with his side alone.

"His parents and Sarah can't find him, but I think I know where he is."

"Let's go…"

**NCIS**

He shouldn't be here. He wasn't twelve-years-old anymore, this wasn't something he could hide from, but a part of him just didn't care. Right now, he didn't want to think. Thinking led to questions and questions led to anger and anger led to McGee wanting to drive to his parents' motel, storm up to their room, and demand to know just why they lied to him all these years. No, wait, he should say 'parent': one, singular, Mom.

He rolled his shoulders, placing another quarter in the machine, and started the game up again. He remembered the last time he hid out at an arcade, it had been six weeks shy of his high school graduation and his father… oops, _Jack_ hadn't been pleased that Tim had stuck by his decision to study computers…

**NCIS**

**1995…**

"…MIT isn't the only school you were accepted to," Jack said pointing at the envelopes scattered across the coffee table.

"Dad, I want to go to MIT! I want to study computers," McGee argued, his patience running thin. He had repeated the same two sentences six times. His father just wouldn't listen to him.

"You can go anywhere, _do _anything. You are so smart, Tim. What about the navy…?"

"Dad, I told you I don't want to join the navy!"

"Tim, just hear him out," his mother said from the couch, barely paying attention as she graded papers for her class.

"I can set you up…" McGee turned on his heel, heading towards the door, cutting off whatever his father was going to say. He had to get out of there; fury was pulsing through his veins. "Where are you going?" Jack called after him.

Tim didn't answer. He just walked out the door and slammed it behind him. He didn't understand why his father was so hard on him. It wasn't _just _him, their dad had his fair share of expectations for Sarah, too, but it seemed he pushed Tim harder.

He found a pay phone and tried calling Penny, but she was on another one of her trips. It was hard to have his grandmother as a confidant is she wasn't home. He wandered down the sidewalk, kicking at a stray rock.

He wished they were living in Maryland again. Penny had told him to come over anytime, regardless if she were home or not. In California, over two-thousand miles from Penny, the only thing he could do was call. He hated calling her, it was so impersonal. Of course, he hated it more when she wasn't around at all. She always could talk him down, convince him to go back home…

He found himself out front of the arcade, the place was nearly empty. He slipped into the building, maneuvering around machines and people, stopping in front of Pac-Man. Ever since Playstation came out not many people went to the arcade anymore. Tim had been working his butt off to buy a Playstation, but the potato factory didn't play nearly as much as he wanted.

As he stuck a quarter in the machine, he let his mind wander. The more it wandered, the easier it was to just forget about his father's wishes for him. Even if it was for a while…

**NCIS**

**Present Day…**

McGee came back to himself when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. He whirled around, slamming his elbow into the edge of the machine. Swearing, clutching his arm, he looked up to meet Tony's eyes. His stomach swooped, and he suddenly felt sick.

He knew Tony knew. He may not have let his mother explain everything, but from what she managed to get out she told Tony last night. And if his reaction was any indication, he was, most likely, taking the news about as well as Tim.

"Are you fourteen, McTimmy?" Tony asked giving him a small smile. Tim merely turned his back on DiNozzo and returned to his game. "I mean, playing Pac-Man, during a work day. Doesn't seem like something you'd do."

"Cut the crap, DiNozzo," McGee grumbled pounding on the keys, the yellow circle eating a 'Power Pellet.' He chased after one of the ghost, Tim not sure if it was Blinky or Inky, eating it. Its eyes returned to the center, just as the ghosts changed from blue to white and back to their original colors. "I know you know," he continued just as the orange guy, Pokey, 'killed' him.

"How much did your mom tell you?" Tony asked softly. Tim didn't respond as he began to play again. He was almost to another 'Power Pellet' when Pinky ran into him. "Did she tell you I wanted to tell you?" McGee was only half-listening to DiNozzo, trying with all his might to avoid the four ghosts. "Or that she asked me not to say anything? Actually, she begged me." he was eaten a third time, clenching his hands into fists.

"Who else knows?" Tim questioned quietly, eating the cherries before moving on to a few more yellow pac-dots. He knew his father… Jack knew, but didn't know who else. Did Tony run around, telling everyone? He just said he wanted to tell Tim, but was that a lie? Was he just trying to assure Tim that he was his friend? Was he just saving his own skin?

"Gibbs overheard your mom and me talking," Tony replied after a few minutes pause. "And Ziva heard me talking to my father."

McGee nodded, just as he ran into Inky. He rolled his shoulders again, pounding on the machine as he tried to beat the level with his last life. He had never been this bad, opting to blame it on everything that had happened. "Keep it from Abby, please." He didn't want the Goth knowing, not yet. It was bad enough he had to know, had to tell Sarah, but to tell Abby would be opening a can of worms he'd much rather keep closed for as long as possible.

"What made your mom want to tell you?" Tony asked in a cautious voice after a few seconds of silence. McGee didn't say anything again, trying hard not to remember the conversation between him and his mother. He didn't want to remember, and he hated Tony for continuing to bring it up…

**NCIS**

_Tim __sat __in __the __booth, __staring __straight __at __his __mother, __his __mind __taking __a __second __to __wrap __around __what __he __just __heard. __He __was __whose __son? __Jack __McGee __wasn__'__t __what __to __him?_

_ "I know you are upset," his mother said quickly, swiping at her eyes again. "And I am so sorry I lied…"_

_ "I am not…?" McGee trailed off, his throat suddenly dry, his whole body going numb. He needed to get out of there; he needed to get away from her. He couldn't look at her. But, for some reason, he just couldn't move._

_ "Tim, I never wanted any of this to happen," she repeated slowly. "Hell, I didn't even want Tony to know, but when I thought he already knew…"_

_ "Tony knows," Tim said quietly, recalling the night before. Tony had tried to hide behind his usual masks, but he didn't do a very good job. McGee knew it wasn't just his father; DiNozzo had been bothered by this news, too. _

_"__I talked to him last night, and when I returned to the motel your father and I talked. __He said it was best to hear it from me and not Tony…"_

_"__You __shouldn__'__t __have __waited __until _now _to __tell __me!__" __Tim __snapped, __anger __replacing __the __numb __feeling, __getting __to __his __feet.__ "__This __isn__'__t __something __you __hide __from __your __son! __Not __this! __I __can__'__t__… __I __don__'__t __even__…" __he __shook __his __head __once __before __storming __out __of __the __diner__…_

**NCIS**

Tony knew McGee wasn't going to answer him. Hell, had he been in Tim's shoes he wouldn't have been in a chatty mood either. So, Tony just stood behind McGee, trying to figure out just what to say to make this situation less tense. That's when he realized there was nothing he could say that would help McGee. Not now, at least. Maybe once it sunk in and he had time to process things, but until then…

"Gibbs is outside, waiting for us," Tony said watching as McGee continued his game. The younger man nodded once. He was down to one, final pac-dot. "If you want, I'm sure he'd let you go home. We don't have a case or anything." Another nod; he was so close to beating the level. "And your parents and Sarah are looking for you." He was almost on top of the dot, an inch away (if that) when Pinky came out of nowhere and killed him.

He pounded his fist on the machine before turning and heading toward the door. Tony hurried to keep up, flashing the manager an apologetic look. Gibbs was sitting by the curb, waiting for them, and offered Tim a coffee. The younger guy just shook his head and slid into the back seat of the Sedan.

Tony and Gibbs glanced at each other before getting in the car. The ride back to the naval yard was completely silent. McGee glared out the window, Gibbs concentrated on driving, and Tony found himself studying Tim again. He rarely saw his friend like this. Actually, he couldn't remember the last time McGee had been like this. The kid's life hadn't just been flipped on its side, it had been destroyed; just as Tony had predicted.

They pulled into the parking lot, Gibbs putting the car in park and shutting it off. They walked toward the building, the silence pressing in on Tony. He wasn't used to being this quiet. Childish, sure, but he wasn't built to keep quiet. It wasn't in his nature. It was why he and Abby got along so well… or one of the reasons.

After a quick elevator ride up, the doors slid open and all three guys stepped off, only to stop at the sight that was waiting for them. There, standing by Ziva's desk, a relaxed smile on his face, was the one person Tony did not want to see at that moment.

He looked up at their arrival, his eyes resting on Tony's face, and said, "Junior, been wondering when you were going to get back."

"Dad…?"

**NCIS**

**I know, it probably wasn't the flashbacks you were expecting, but I did promise flashbacks. And s****peaking of flashbacks, I italicized the one because I didn't exactly have a real time frame. And if the cliffhangers are bugging you I am sorry, they are in my nature.**** Oh, and I'm not sure how in character McGee is either, so I apologize if he isn't exactly McGee. From what I saw he gets quiet when he's upset, but he also gets snappish if 'poked at...'**

**Whatever, anyway thanks ever so much for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. They were awesome and I can't thank you enough :)**

**So, anything that is _not_ from my cluttered head is not mine, thanks again for reading, and drop me a comment. Let me know what you like and what you don't.**

**See ya...**

**P.S. I am not exactly sure what date the first Playstation came out, but Google told me America released it in 1995.**

**Seriously going now :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A big thanks to my beta 26hannah26 :D**

**Yes, for those who do not follow my other NCIS story, I broke down and got a beta. I sometimes miss grammar and spelling mistakes, I needed a second pair of eyes, and I am so glad Hannah agreed to help me :)**

**Enjoy the chapter...**

**NCIS**

Ziva had been surprised when Tony's father showed up in the bullpen, escorted by an agent. She recalled Tony telling his dad not to come to D.C., that his presence would only make matters worse. _Of course**,**_ as far as Ziva knew-her team _had _been gone a while-McGee didn't know what went on between Tony's father and his mother.

"Ziva, how nice to see you," DiNozzo Senior said and Ziva stood, giving him a quick hug. He may have been a major bastard when Tony was growing up, but Ziva didn't know him then. She knew him now, and actually liked him. He was a charming individual, an older Tony.

"What are you doing here, Anthony?" he had asked her to call him 'Tony' but there already was a Tony. She opted to call him by his full name; it was less confusing that way.

"Just visiting Junior." She knew he was lying, though he wasn't aware she knew. Tony hadn't known she was listening at the time, only discovering her after he hung up on his father. "He's not here, is he?" Senior looked around, most likely hoping to spot Tony before Tony spotted him.

"No, he is not," Ziva replied.

"What about McGee?" he questioned, meeting her dark eyes. "He's here, right?"

"No," she said slowly. She wasn't sure what Senior had planned, but she knew Tony wasn't going to like it. In fact, he was most likely going to hate it.

"They leave you here all alone?" Senior questioned, giving her a smile. Before Ziva could respond, the elevator opened. She turned, watching as Gibbs, Tony, and McGee stepped off the car. Judging by McGee's expression, Cecelia most definitely told him. Yeah, DiNozzo Senior's arrival wasn't going to help anything.

All three stopped at the sight of Senior, and Tony's father said, "Junior, been wondering when you were going to get back."

"Dad?" Tony gave his father a look of pure disbelief. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, trekking across the floor, towards the bullpen. He stopped short of his father, the older man opening his mouth to say something, and hurriedly said, "Conference room, now."

"Good bye, Ziva." Anthony Senior turned, following his son. Once they were out of sight, Gibbs and McGee crossed the room. Gibbs walked past Ziva's desk, taking a seat at his own, while Tim stopped just short of Tony's desk, looking a little lost.

"McGee," Ziva said softly, but he didn't react. "McGee," she tried again, but still didn't get an answer. "Tim," she raised her voice slightly and he jumped, looking over at her. "Are you okay?" He gave her a noncommittal head twitch before moving toward his desk.

It was quiet for a few seconds, Ziva throwing her friend worried looks, before Gibbs quietly said, "Ziva, take McGee home."

"Okay, Gibbs," she replied, getting to her feet. She walked to Tim's desk, crouching down so she could look him in the eyes. "Let's go, Tim." At first, she thought he might protest, or just sit there, but he nodded once and stood up.

He slowly collected his things, forgetting his jacket, and started toward the elevator. Ziva grabbed the coat from his chair, flashing him a worried look. She heard someone say her name, turning her head to see Gibbs staring at her. "Keep an eye on him," he said quietly and she nodded. Taking a second to collect her own stuff, she hurried to catch up to her friend...

**NCIS**

Tony let his father into the conference room first before following him, closing the door behind him. At first, he didn't say a word, just waited for his father to take a seat. As he lowered himself into one of the several chairs, Senior said, "Not sure why you are overreacting, Junior…"

"Overreacting Dad? Overreacting? I told you…" he drew in a breath, lowering his voice, "I told you not to come. I told you to stay in New York."

"If he's my son, I have the right to know him," Senior defended himself, leaning back in his chair.

"Dad, you already know him. Besides, he's not taking the news well." Tony sat down, watching as his father leaned forward, a look of shock on his face.

"Cecelia told him?" Tony wasn't sure whether his father was surprised McGee found out or that he found out so soon. Something like this, kept secret for three decades, was bound to stay hidden, no matter the cost, especially if the secret keeper was clinging tightly to it. The fact that Cecelia broke, after not even twenty-four hours, baffled Tony, let alone his father.

"Look," DiNozzo started, with a sigh, pushing himself up. "I realize I can't tell you where you can and cannot go, but while you are here please leave Tim alone. That is all I ask." And he walked out of the room before his father could say another word…

He headed back to the bullpen, noticing Ziva's and McGee's desks empty. He looked toward Gibbs, who was reading through a stack of paperwork, and made to open his mouth. Without even looking up from his work, Jethro cut him off by saying, "I told Ziva to take him home." It was scary how Gibbs almost always knew.

Tony opened his mouth again, intending to tell Gibbs he was going to see McGee whether the older man liked it or not, but was again cut off. This time, Jethro just nodded his head toward the elevator.

"Thank you, boss…"

**NCIS**

Ziva pulled into McGee's parking lot, putting her Mini Coop into park. She glanced over at her friend, who had yet to say a word. For a moment, she wished she could read his mind and see just what he was thinking about. It could be many things: the fact that his mother lied to him; the fact that he was a long lost DiNozzo; the fact that his real father had been in the bullpen and said nothing to him. The list went on and on.

"Come on, McGee," Ziva said, turning her car off. She opened her door, getting out of the Mini Coop, waiting for Tim to follow her. He sat there for a few seconds before he pushed his own door open and pulled his tall frame from her car.

The two agents walked to Tim's apartment in a heavy silence. Ziva kept throwing her friend worried looks, counting down the seconds until he broke. Ziva had never seen McGee lose it before, she didn't know what to expect. Not that she couldn't handle it, she'd seen men far more savage than Timothy McGee pushed to their breaking points, and she'd dealt with them with no problem.

Not that this discovery was McGee's breaking point, but it had to be pretty damn close. It would be plenty of people's breaking points, or, at least, the nudge that sent them hurtling toward their breaking points.

Ziva stopped behind Tim, waiting for him to unlock his apartment door. She could have easily done it herself, she did have a key (she had a key to everyone's places), but she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate the help at that moment.

It took him a few tries, Ziva glad Gibbs sent him home with how distracted Tim was, but he managed to get the door unlocked. He stepped into the apartment, trekking across the floor. He stopped near his desk, looking down at the surface.

Ziva closed the door, placing his stuff on the floor, having grabbed it before locking her car up. She was just about to suggest making him a cup of coffee when a crash sounded through the small apartment. She turned, her eyes zeroing in on a picture frame lying on the floor, pieces of glass surrounding it.

McGee was still standing by his desk, but he was breathing heavily, his fists clenched at his sides, his back to Ziva. Keeping her defenses up-she was in uncharted territory regardless of it being McGee-she walked toward her friend. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do, she was still trying to get a hang of the whole 'comforting' thing, but her gut told her she had to do something.

She stopped short of Tim, reaching her hand out to touch his shoulder, but he moved away before she could make contact. He walked toward his room, closing the door behind him. Ziva debated whether or not to follow him, but, before she could make a decision, a knock sounded through the apartment.

She moved across the apartment, pulling the door open to reveal Tony. She stepped back to allow him access to Tim's home, closing the door behind him. Before he could open his mouth, Ziva said, "He's in his room."

"He break that?" Tony asked, nodding toward the broken picture frame. Ziva nodded, watching as Tony crossed the room, picking the frame up. He looked down at the photo before handing it to Ziva. She glanced at the broken frame, her eyes taking in the picture of McGee, his mother, and father. He had to be, at least, three. They were smiling, all three in ignorant bliss over what was going to happen thirty-some years later.

"You can head out," Tony informed Ziva as she placed the picture back on McGee's desk. She shook her head, saying, "I was thinking about making something for him to eat. Maybe cleaning up the glass so no one steps on it."

Tony nodded, glancing towards McGee's closed door. Ziva lightly pushed him toward the room and said, "Go talk to him."

"I'm not good at the whole 'heart-to-heart' thing. That's Abby's area…"

"Then call Abby."

"He doesn't want her knowing. At least not yet."

Ziva could see why McGee wouldn't want Abby knowing just yet. Tim probably wanted to process all this information before telling Abby. Ziva didn't blame him. Abby meant well, she always did, but sometimes she just didn't know when to stop helping. And sometimes, it seemed she made things about her without meaning to. It was a never ending cycle for Abby.

"I'll go talk to him," Tony muttered after a few moments pause. He nodded, still standing a good three feet from McGee's room. "I'm going," he said, rolling his shoulders. He started toward the door, stopped, turned to say something, but shook his head and kept going. He hesitated at the door, his hand on the knob. He took a breath, turned the knob, and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him…

**NCIS**

Abby was listening to music, bopping her head to the pulsing beat of the metal blaring from her speakers. She didn't have any real work to do today, opting to just check all her computers' systems, make sure they were running smoothly. She had to take care of her babies otherwise they wouldn't be there for her when she needed them.

She was just finishing up with one of her computers when she felt a hand land on her shoulder. She whirled around in surprise, expecting to see Gibbs. It wasn't Gibbs, not even close to Gibbs, but she did know the person.

"Oh, hi," she said with a smile on her face.

"Hi," he said backing up a few steps. Abby grabbed her remote off her lab table, turning her music off.

"What can I do for you?" she asked curiously. "I haven't seen your son if that's who you are looking for."

"I'm not," he replied wandering around her lab. Abby watched him carefully, waiting for him to touch her equipment. She didn't appreciate people putting their fingers all over her babies, especially if they didn't know what they were doing.

"Then what do you need?" she asked with a little more force than necessary.

"Can you do DNA tests down here?" he questioned letting his eyes scan the room.

"If one needs to be taken, why?"

"So, if someone gave you their blood and the blood of say, someone who may or may not be their child, you'd be able to confirm whether they are related or not?"

Abby eyed him suspiciously, slowly wrapping her mind around what he had just asked her. Why would he need a DNA test? Did he _not_ think his son was his? Or did he find out he had another child and wanted it confirmed?

"Why are you asking me this?"

"No reason," he replied looking her way. "Just curious." And he walked out of her lab, leaving Abby more confused than ever before. For a second, she debated whether or not to follow him, demand to know what he was talking about, but instead picked up her phone and dialed a familiar number.

"_Gibbs?"_

"Hi, something weird just happened. We need to talk…"

**NCIS**

**Hm, I wonder who talked to Abby :O**

**Thanks so much for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting last chapter (hm, I guess 'favoriting' is not a word. Damn red squiggly line :)). It was much appreciated.**

**I hope you enjoyed this, please excuse Ziva's thoughts about Abby (those are mine, sometimes Abby can get on my nerves. No offense to the Abby fans), and I own nothing.**

**Drop a comment if you can :)**

**PEACE OUT...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A big thanks to my beta 26hannah26...**

**NCIS**

Tony found Tim lying across his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Slowly, Tony crossed the floor, settling down next to McGee. For a while they just laid in silence, DiNozzo finding the off-white color of McGee's ceiling somewhat soothing. He wondered what Vance would say if he proposed they repainted NCIS' walls _that_ color instead of the orange.

"I've always wanted a brother," McGee said quietly, breaking the heavy silence. Tony turned his head, looking at the side of McGee's. "I remember one time," Tim laughed once, humorlessly, "I asked my Mom and Dad… Jack…" he trailed off, another awkward silence filling the room. "But they had Sarah instead.

"God," Tim exclaimed suddenly, sitting up, running his hands down his face. "Everything is just so screwed up."

"It could be worse. You could have had my childhood," Tony replied, lifting himself up on his elbows. "Be grateful you had Jack instead of Senior." His childhood with Senior was full of enough bad memories to last Tony several lifetimes.

"I don't blame them for keeping me from Senior. It's just, they lied to me, Tony," McGee said quietly, glancing over at DiNozzo. "It's not like my mother sat me down when I was younger and explained that my real father was a world class asshole..." Tim cut himself off, breaking eye contact with Tony. "Sorry," he muttered, "I shouldn't have said... I mean he's your dad."

"It's nothing I've never called him before," Tony responded, shrugging. "In fact, add a couple more swear words and you'd be quoting me word for word during my high school graduation." Tony pushed himself up, turning to look at Tim. "Look, I get where you're coming from. Thirty-plus years believing one thing only to have the rug pulled up from underneath you."

"It was more like a punch to the gut," Tim mumbled leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I wouldn't doubt that, but look on the bright side," Tony said suddenly, a grin spreading across his face.

"What?" McGee gave him a cautious look, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You get me as a big brother."

"That's a bright side?" McGee muttered, the corners of his mouth turning up.

"Oh come on. A) I'd be an awesome big brother and B) we don't have to worry about that 'getting to know each other' phase. We _already _know each other."

Of course, if Tony thought about it, how much did either guy _really_ know about each other? He'd already silently established he didn't know much about McGee, and _he_ never shared enough for _anyone_ to get to know him. He _was_ trying to work on that, but it was a slow process. After over forty years of burying his emotions and pushing away others' help, it was going to take some time before Tony really started trusting people. He started opening up to Gibbs more, his go to guy, but there was only so much more he could tell his boss. Maybe it was time he opened up to others. Say, his little brother.

The two guys fell silent, Tim staring at his hands while Tony looked up at the ceiling again. McGee broke the silence once more. "You do know I've always kind of seen you as an older brother." He spoke the words quietly, still looking down at his hands.

"I saw you as a little brother," Tony admitted and gave McGee a crooked smile when he looked up. Tim opened his mouth to say something else, but a knock sounded and he closed it. "That's probably Gibbs," DiNozzo responded looking towards the closed bedroom door.

The two brothers pushed themselves to their feet, and Tony lead Tim out of the room. Ziva was already heading toward the door, her hair in a messy ponytail. She opened the door, and Tony stopped short, feeling Tim slam into his back.

"Dad, I told you to leave him alone," Tony snapped stalking across the floor. "Who even told you where he lived?"

"It doesn't matter, Junior. I just need to talk to Tim…"

"I don't want you anywhere near my son," a voice said from behind Senior. He turned, moving a little to reveal Cecelia McGee. Her arms were crossed, her lips were pursed, and she looked like she wanted to hit Senior.

"If I heard correctly, he's my son, too," Senior retorted and Cecelia eyes narrowed. "I have every right to talk to Tim."

"Anthony, you lost that right when you told me to take my bastard and get out. Tim has a father, he doesn't need you."

"I think I can speak for myself," McGee spat pushing past Tony. "If my _real_ father wants to talk to me then my _real_ father can talk to me." Tony knew it was a testament to how angry Tim was at his mother, how readily he took Senior's side. Had Tony heard that his father had called _him_ a bastard, before he was even born, he wasn't sure if he would have sided with Senior.

"Thank you," Senior replied turning to nod Tim's way. He turned back to Cecelia. "Of course, it hasn't been proven I _am _his real father," he muttered and Cecelia hauled off and slapped him across the face.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed. "You haven't changed at all!"

"What did you expect me to do? Believe some nineteen-year-old? How did I know you just weren't upset because I told you it was a onetime deal?"

"Dad, get out," Tony shouted pulling Tim behind him. "Just go, you're not helping anything."

"I want a DNA test done," Senior argued pointing Cecelia's way. "If Tim's mine, I want proof. I talked to Abby, she says…"

"Dad, you shouldn't have done that!" Tony hadn't been this angry with his father in years.

"What were you planning to do, Anthony?" Cecelia spoke over DiNozzo. "Break in, steal some of Tim's DNA?"

"No, I'm here to ask him if he'd be willing to take a test."

"More like force," Cecelia muttered and Senior's jaw clenched.

"I'll do it," Tony heard Tim say behind him, but neither Cecelia nor Senior heard him, both continuing to bicker back and forth. "I'll do it," he tried again, with a slightly louder voice.

"You don't have to," Tony said out of the corner of his mouth.

Tim ignored him and shouted, "I'll do it!" Both Senior and Cecelia cut their argument off, turning to look McGee's way.

"Are you sure, Tim?" Cecelia questioned cautiously, furrowing her eyebrows. "You don't have…"

"I want to know, Mom," McGee said cutting her off. "No, I _need_ to know. And if you can't respect that then I'm sorry. And if you can't trust me and my decisions then you can get the hell out."

"Tim." By the surprised look on Cecelia's face, Tony could tell Tim had never spoken to her in that tone before. In fact, there were only a handful of times Tony had heard McGee speak to _anyone_ like that; with so much anger and contempt.

"Okay," Senior responded nodding. He turned to leave, waiting for Cecelia to move. She glared at him, but stepped aside and allowed Senior to walk past her. Once he was gone, Cecelia turned to Tim and opened her mouth to say something.

"Please, Mom, just go," McGee said turning his back on her.

"But Tim…"

"Please."

"Fine," Cecelia said softly. "I still love you, Tim. Even if you hate me right now, I'll never stop loving you." And she left, closing the door behind her.

The room lapsed into a heavy silence. Tony shared a look with Ziva, who looked just as uncertain as he felt. Neither knew what to say to make McGee feel better. And really, what was there to say? Senior wanted a DNA test, Tim was too upset with his mother to talk to her, and there was a possibility Abby knew. Of course, if she knew she'd most likely be there by now.

"Guys, you can go," Tim said quietly before walking back into his room.

"What do we do?" Ziva questioned the moment McGee's door closed. Tony shrugged. "Well, I am not leaving," she announced wandering back into the kitchen. Neither was Tony, he couldn't leave now. "You know, if Abby knows," Ziva continued over her shoulder, "we will need to head her off when she shows up here."

"If she knew I have a feeling she would have beaten my dad here," Tony replied moving across the room. He leaned against the island separating McGee's kitchen from the rest of his apartment, resting his elbows on the surface. "How did he know where McGee lived?"

"I do not know," Ziva replied slowly stirring whatever she was cooking. Tony had to admit, it smelled pretty good.

"He should never have gotten involved. I told him to leave McGee alone, but Senior does what Senior wants, regardless of who he hurts in the process." He ran his hands through his hair. He pushed away from the counter, taking his phone from his pocket. "I should call Abby."

"Perhaps Gibbs," Ziva suggested putting her spoon down.

"Good idea," Tony said as he scrolled through his contacts. If anyone could head Abby off, it would be Gibbs.

**NCIS**

Abby was pacing back and forth, drinking her Caf-Pow as if her life depended on it. She was waiting for Gibbs to get down to her lab; she needed to talk to him. If Tony's father was talking about DNA testing and kids and blood then Gibbs really ought to know. He'd be able to fix this if something big happened.

"Gibbs," Abby exclaimed when the older man appeared in her doorway. She could tell he was a little worried even if it wasn't evident on his face. Maybe telling him something hinky was going on without telling him what that was exactly wasn't the best idea.

"Abbs," Gibbs countered lifting an eyebrow.

"Um," Abby put her Caf-Pow down, "Tony's dad was here." Something crossed Gibbs face that Abby couldn't pinpoint. It was gone just as quickly. "He kept asking me about DNA testing and giving me blood and…" Abby trailed off, continuing to pace back and forth. "I think Senior either found out he has another kid or he doesn't think Tony is his. And I doubt it's the second one because he and Tony look _so_ much alike.

"Gibbs," she stopped, looking Gibbs' way, "I think Tony has a brother or a sister. Do you think it's possible?" She didn't give Gibbs time to respond but did start to pace again. "_I_ think it's possible. And wouldn't that be awesome? I mean, the whole meeting each other thing would be awkward. And he might not want to meet him or her. But I know Tony's always wanted a brother, but I figure a sister would be okay, too. And then we can allow this person into our family, as long as they aren't crazy. God knows I've met enough crazies.

"What do you think?" She turned to Gibbs, waiting for him to say something. "I mean, you have to have an opinion about this. I'm sure Tony…" Abby gasped, "Gibbs, do you think Tony knows he could have a brother or sister? Is that why Senior is in town? Did he want Tony to know about this sibling?"

She suddenly flashed back to the night before, during dinner with McGee's family. Something had gone on between Cecelia and Tony. Abby remembered something had felt hinky about the whole thing. It had bothered her, and it still did. Then realization hit her, something she should have seen when Senior came into her lab.

"No," she whispered halting mid-pace, turning to look at Gibbs. "McGee? No."

"Abbs."

"I mean, yeah they have the same color eyes, but…" She shook her head. "No. That can't be true. They can't be…" she rounded on Gibbs. "Did you know about this?"

This was Gibbs, he knew almost everything, and he had left the table a few minutes after Tony and Cecelia. Abby figured he had either gone to check on the situation or had to use the bathroom. And since this _was_ Gibbs, Abby doubted he left to use the bathroom.

"I mean it makes sense if I see the bigger picture," Abby continued starting to pace again, not giving Gibbs a chance to speak. "Tony and Cecelia leave the table, she comes back in a huff, Tony comes back pissed off, and you come back as if nothing had happened. Then Senior comes to DC the next day, probably after Tony called him to ask him if what Cecelia told him was true.

"And Senior, probably not one-hundred percent convinced, flies to DC to approach McGee about a DNA test. Thinking about it, it's not a very good plan. Kind of mean, in a way, telling him he's his long, lost father by asking him to take a DNA test.

"And Cecelia could easily be one of Senior's old flings. Though, she'd have to be like eighteen or nineteen when she got pregnant with Timmy." Abby stopped pacing again, biting her lip. "This is totally mind blowing."

Gibbs waited, probably making sure Abby had said her share of words, before he slowly said, "Don't make a big deal out of this." Abby expected him to lie to her, maybe not say anything at all, so it surprised her when he confirmed her theory.

"But McGee is Tony's brother," Abby whispered, suddenly realizing no one had thought to tell her. The way things looked, almost everyone knew. Gibbs, Tony, Senior, Cecelia, Jack, most likely McGee himself. Hell, even Ziva _might_ know, too. Why didn't anyone tell her?

"I mean it, Abbs," Gibbs said slowly, obviously sensing what she had just figured out. "Do not make a big deal out of this." His phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and flipped it open, "Yeah, Gibbs." He gave Abby one, final look before walking out of her lab. "She's here, DiNozzo."

**NCIS**

Gibbs pressed the call button, waiting for the elevator to arrive. While he waited, he listened to Tony. "_Because my dad was here and so was Cecelia and they made a _huge _scene, and the way my dad was talking…"_

_"_She knows, DiNozzo," Gibbs cut Tony off, deciding it was better to get it out now instead of hiding it.

"_He told her didn't he?"_

"Nope."

"_Then how did she…?"_ Tony trailed off, his investigator brain catching on. "_She put the pieces together didn't she? I should have known this wasn't something we could keep from Abby. So, I'm guessing she's on her way over here?"_

"She hasn't left her lab," Gibbs replied as the doors slid open. He stepped onto the elevator, pressing the third floor button. "How's McGee?"

"_Sitting in his room,"_ Tony said with a sigh. It wasn't lost on Gibbs how DiNozzo had deliberately avoided answering his question. _"Boss, I'm worried about him."_

"Just keep an eye on him."

Tony took a breath, most likely going to say something else. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Ziva. Gibbs could hear her voice, his sharp ears picking up the words. "_Tony, McGee's not in his room."_

"_Boss, I just…"_

"I'll be right there," Gibbs cut in, pressing the first floor button. The doors, having opened a few seconds earlier, closed again and the car took him down.

**NCIS**

**I know this chapter had some drama in it. My mind is just stuck on drama right now, I mean everything I am writing lately is just full of drama. I miss the funny! Where is the funny?**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and to everyone who read last chapter. As always, you guys are amazing.**

**I do not own NCIS, thanks for taking the time to read this, and leave me a comment if you can.**

**I am off to write more drama :D**

**PEACE OUT...**

**P.S. I should probably note this takes place before Abby finds out about Kyle.**

**BYE**


	7. Chapter 7

**An extra special thanks to my beta 26hannah26 for not only looking this over, but for also helping me with the DNA stuff. *cyber five* Yeah, I'm a dork :D**

**NCIS**

Gibbs could tell Tony was worried. They had searched every one of McGee's usual haunts, but they couldn't find him anywhere, and he wouldn't answer his phone. They kept in constant contact with Ziva, who hadn't found Tim either.

"Boss, I think we'll have to call Abby," Tony said when they left the arcade. Gibbs gave Tony a look and he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Abby's number. "Hey, Abbs. Yeah, before you start, I need you to do me a favor." He nodded, Gibbs hearing Abby's voice from across the car, but she was talking too fast for him to understand her. "Can you please…" she kept talking. "…track…" Tony was attempting to get every word in when she paused for breath. "…McGee's cell?"

Abby stopped and Gibbs clearly heard, "_What?_"

"His cell phone, Abby. We can't find him."

"_Hold on_," he heard Abby respond after a few seconds pause. She was quiet for a moment, probably on one of her computers, and finally her voice appeared, "_He's at Gibbs' house_."

"What? Are you sure?" Tony had obviously asked the wrong question, Abby practically yelling at him, her tiny voice emitting from his phone. "Okay, thanks Abbs," DiNozzo shouted over her and hung up.

Gibbs turned the car around in a screeching U-turn, Tony visibly turning green, and started towards his place. As he drove, Tony called Ziva and informed her that they had found Tim.

"…let's talk to him first before we have a swarm of people over at Gibbs'. But you can head…" Tony nodded, "Good, thanks Z." He flipped his phone shut, placing it in his pocket. "She said she'll head Abby off." Gibbs nodded, speeding up a little.

He didn't think McGee was in trouble or anything. He just needed to kick his ass for making the entire team worry about him.

**NCIS**

McGee didn't know what he was doing there. It wasn't like he made it a habit of showing up at his boss' house. Hell, besides the one time during a case, McGee hadn't ever visited Gibbs' house. It actually made sense, in a way. And it would definitely be the last place any of his team would look.

He thought about his 'great' escape. He had used the fire escape below his window, the same way Mikel used to get down when he was stalking Abby. It had been a two foot drop, Tim was certain he had almost wet his pants when he looked down, but he had to get out of his apartment. He couldn't deal with Tony and Ziva being there, especially if they started to hover. He couldn't tolerate the hovering.

He was sitting on Gibbs' front porch steps. He didn't feel comfortable walking into someone's house without an invitation. And whether the door was unlocked or not, Tim didn't feel like he was allowed inside Gibbs' house. He just stared at his phone, having turned it on a few minutes beforehand, wondering if Gibbs and Tony had Abby trace it, yet.

Before he took off, he had heard Tony talking to Gibbs. He was surprised Abby hadn't shown up, screaming at him for not saying anything. He really wished she didn't, he wasn't in the mood right now to deal with her. He might say something he'd regret.

Gibbs' car pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. Tony was out of the car first, before it even stopped, stalking across the lawn. McGee pushed himself to his feet, waiting for the onslaught of screaming and name calling.

Tony slapped the back of his head and said, "Don't ever do that again. God, you had Ziva so worried about you." McGee knew Tony wasn't telling the whole truth, but opted to let it go.

Gibbs had a more subtle approach. He just slapped the back of McGee's head and pointed at the house. Ears ringing slightly, from both head slaps, Tim turned on his heel and started up the porch steps, Tony and Gibbs following him.

The door easily opened when he turned the knob and McGee stepped inside. He stood in the entryway, not exactly sure where to go. When Gibbs and DiNozzo walked past him, towards the living room, McGee trudged behind.

"Sit," Gibbs said pointing at the couch. McGee sat, placing his hands in his lap. He watched as Tony paced back and forth, shaking his head, muttering inaudible words. Gibbs stepped in front of a surprised DiNozzo, grabbed his arms, and steered him to the couch.

Once both younger guys were sitting, the older man took a seat on his coffee table and met their eyes. "McGee," was all he said, but Tim knew he wanted him to explain.

"I had to get out of there, boss," McGee muttered looking down at his hands.

"By climbing out a window?" Tony balked. "You could have gotten yourself killed. And aren't you afraid of heights? Why would you risk…?"

"DiNozzo," Gibbs' sharp voice cut Tony off. He turned his attention back to McGee. He wanted Tim to continue.

"I just couldn't sit there anymore. Not after my mother and… and Senior went at each other's throats." Now that he wasn't facing his mother, now that the anger had dissipated some, Tim couldn't bring himself to call DiNozzo Senior his 'father.' "I kept hearing their words over and over. I just didn't want to be around anyone, boss.

"And I know it's no excuse, but I thought maybe if I came here no one would look for me for a while. Just so I could sort through all these jumbled thoughts I have roaming around my head."

"And did you?" Tony asked softly.

"I wish," McGee replied giving them a sad smile.

The door was thrown open, Tony and Tim jumped while Gibbs scrambled to his feet. They heard a hissed argument before Abby appeared around the corner, Ziva right behind her.

"I tried to stop her outside, but she was insistent," Ziva informed them wearily.

"Oh my gosh, McGee, are you okay?" Abby exclaimed, crossing the room. She hugged him briefly then pushed herself away from him and punched his arm.

"Ow, Abbs."

"That's for scaring me." She then punched Tony. "And that's for not telling me you two are brothers. We're supposed to be a family, and this is big news for our family. I mean, you two are _actually_ family. And I could have easily run the DNA test to prove it. Senior wouldn't have had to ask, and I could have easily told him I was running the test if he tried. Why didn't you tell me? Is it because you two weren't sure to begin with? Or was it something else?

"But really, who cares what the reason is. What matters is you two are brothers. Flesh and blood brothers. Well, half flesh and blood brothers, but you still have the same DNA. Maybe. But I don't doubt it, I can feel it. I always knew there was something about you two." She squeezed herself between the two guys, putting her arms around both of them.

"It's up to you, McGee," Gibbs said softly.

"You still want to take it?" Tony asked curiously.

McGee thought about it for a moment. He had agreed when Senior and his mother were arguing just to shut them up. But now that he was sitting down, without the fighting, he wondered if he really wanted to know. Would _anything_ change? Or would _everything_ change? Would he have to call Senior 'Dad' or could he stick to Senior? And what about _his_ dad? Jack had as much stock in this as Cecelia, Senior, him, and Tony. And who was going to tell Sarah?

All these questions kept floating around his head, giving him a major migraine. He remembered something Penny told him when he was younger, '_You'll never know until you find the answers.'_ It was those words that helped him clear his head and decide.

"Let's do it."

**NCIS**

Ducky was the obvious choice to take the blood samples which meant they had to let him and Palmer in on the secret (though was it a secret anymore?). Gibbs stood in the corner, his eyes locked on Senior, while Cecelia stood next to him, her arms crossed, glaring at the floor. She didn't necessarily_ have _to be there, but Gibbs had a feeling she wouldn't leave unless she was dragged out. And even then she'd put up a fight.

Palmer was flitting around the lab, still trying to wrap his head around what he found out. "I mean, actual brothers. That's just insane. I mean mind boggling. It's just…"

"Mr. Palmer, please," Ducky snapped as he pulled the needle from Senior's arm and handing the other man a cotton ball for the slowly dribbling blood.

"Sorry, Dr. Mallard," Palmer muttered.

"It's fine. Please take these to Abby," Ducky said placing the last of the blood on a tray. Palmer nodded, carefully took the tray, and walked out of Autopsy. "The boy means well," Ducky said to Senior and Cecelia, "but sometimes I wonder about him."

"About how long until we get the results?" Cecelia questioned ignoring Ducky's comment about Jimmy.

"I'd say about three days. These types of tests take time, and I am sure Abigail has work of her own to do."

"I'm getting a very Maury-esque vibe," Tony muttered leaning against the Autopsy table McGee sat on.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs' quiet voice carried across the room and Tony shut up.

"This reminds me of the time when my friend Dennis' mother revealed she had had a…"

"Duck, not the time," Gibbs interrupted the older man. "DiNozzo, McGee, go back to work." The two guys shared a quick look before the latter jumped down from their Autopsy table and both walked out of the room.

Ducky exchanged looks with Gibbs and nodded. "I should go check on Mr. Palmer. He's been gone a while." And he exited Autopsy through the sliding doors. Once he was gone, Gibbs beckoned Cecelia over to the table Senior sat on.

She was hesitant at first, but slowly she walked over to the older man, keeping a good three feet between them. Gibbs fixed them with a hard stare and said, "We are only doing this because Tim wanted it done."

"I know this, Agent…"

"He already told me…"

"That means," Gibbs continued over the other two, "that when these results come in, regardless of whose favor it's in, I want you two to act like adults. Am I clear?"

"I will not be spoken to like that," Cecelia protested.

"This isn't some pissing contest between you two!" Gibbs snapped and Cecelia recoiled slightly. Senior closed his mouth, letting whatever he was going to say die on his lips. "This is McGee's life we are talking about! He doesn't need you two acting like children! You don't have to like each other, but you better damn well act civil when you are around him!"

Before either one could respond, Gibbs turned on his heel and walked out of Autopsy. He rode the elevator up to his floor, his cell phone ringing when the doors slid open. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"_I want to see you in my office,"_ Vance's voice said from the phone's speakers. Gibbs hung up, pressing the fourth floor button. The doors slid closed again.

**NCIS**

McGee was sitting at his desk, trying and failing to get his work down, when his phone rang. At first he thought it was his work phone, but then he realized the ringing was coming from his jacket. He pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket, checked the ID, and answered, "What, Sarah?"

"_Dad just told me,__Tim."_ Oh great, Sarah knew. "_Why didn't you tell me sooner? I mean we knew something had happened between Tony and Mom but this. Tim, this is huge. I mean, now Auntie Milly can stop talking about the time you ran her cat over with your bike. This is bigger than…"_

"Sarah, I really don't want to talk about it," McGee snapped cutting his sister off. "It's only been two days, I am still trying to wrap my head around it, and I really don't care what Great Aunt Milly has to say on the subject." And he hung up before she could say anything else, feeling really bad about it. She hadn't done anything to him. She wasn't the bad guy. But he knew she would want to talk about it. He couldn't talk about it with her. Not yet anyway.

He looked up to see Tony and Ziva staring at him. "I know I shouldn't have snapped at her," he started wearily before either one could open their mouths, "but if I know Sarah, and I do, she's the type who would want to talk about this. And I don't want to talk about this."

"Duly noted," Tony responded nodding once. He glanced down at his computer, but Ziva still stared at Tim.

McGee tried to ignore her, tried to get back to work, but he knew she was going to continue to stare. Her eyes were drilling into him, almost seeing through him. Finally he glanced up and said, "I'll apologize after work."

She smiled once before going back to work. McGee shook his head, putting his head down on his desk. He hated that everything seemed to be riding on one test. He already found out his life was a lie, what more could go wrong?

"Tim," he heard a voice say. He slowly lifted his head, looking up at his mother. Senior walked past her, gave the entire bullpen a quick wave, and got on an elevator. "Can we talk?" Cecelia asked quietly.

Anger and resentment, towards the woman standing in front of him, fought with the love he felt for her. She was his mother, she never meant to hurt him, but she had hurt him. She had done the one thing she was trying to avoid.

"No, Mom, we can't," he said softly shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

She sniffed, nodded, and turned towards the elevator. McGee watched her go with a heavy heart, a part of him knowing he hadn't done the right thing. Hell, he wasn't even sure what the right thing was anymore. Maybe he was more like Senior than he realized.

**NCIS**

**Hi, what's new? That's good.**

**So, I know this is shorter than last chapter (I think... yeah it is) but good news is I am working on the next so that should be up soon. WOOOOOOO! Nothing? Okay.**

**Anyway, thanks for reviewing, alerting, and just plain supporting this story. I really hope I hear from you again, thanks for reading, and I own nothing.**

**PEACE OUT...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you 26hannah26. Really, you are amazing *cyber five* **

**And seriously, check out her stuff if you guys have the time :)**

**NCIS**

Vance's secretary was well aware of Gibbs, and barely had her hand on her phone when he walked right into the director's office. Leon was sitting at his desk, elbow deep in paperwork, but looked up at Gibbs' arrival.

"I just heard an interesting rumor," Vance informed the older man, not even giving Gibbs a chance to speak. "I was hoping it was just scuttlebutt, but I have a feeling it's not." Gibbs' eyebrows twitched, informing Vance to continue. "You know what I am talking about, Gibbs." It wasn't a question.

"What do you want me to say, Leon?" Gibbs responded cocking his head to the side. "Whether they are brothers or not is between McGee and DiNozzo. It has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me, Gibbs," Leon snapped getting to his feet. "They may be a part of _your_ team, but they work for me. I can't have those two on the same team if they are…"

"If you use that 'conflict of interest' crap on me, I will walk out that door. My whole team is a conflict of interest."

"Gibbs…"

"Leon, this is none of your business. It is a family matter between DiNozzo and McGee," Gibbs repeated slowly.

It was quiet for a few seconds, but finally Vance blew out a frustrated breath and asked, "How sure are you Gibbs?"

"They took a test today."

"And who's paying for this test? DNA testing isn't cheap."

"It can't be buried?" Gibbs questioned with a shrug.

"These things tend to be uncovered in time," Vance pointed out, sitting back down.

"McGee just wants to be sure, Leon," Jethro replied softly.

"I'm just saying, Gibbs, if this gets uncovered…"

"Then we'll deal with it."

"If I had a dollar for every time you buried something for your team…" Leon muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"You'd be able to afford a decent team," Gibbs commented heading, towards the door.

"Sometimes I wonder if I already have one," Vance retorted, smirking when Jethro looked his way. Gibbs shook his head and exited the director's office.

**NCIS**

McGee returned to his apartment that night, stopping short of his doorway. A part of him wanted to take a long, hot shower, sit at his typewriter, and try to forget everything that had happened. While the other part just wanted to run: pack a change of clothes, get in his car, and just drive. He didn't know where he'd go, didn't really care, but if it got him away from this madness, even for a few days, that'd be fine with him.

But he knew he couldn't run away. He could run as far as he wanted, it wouldn't change what had happened. When he returned his life would still be a mess. It would be like covering up a stain with a towel. No matter what, the stain would always be there, waiting until someone lifted the towel.

Tim sighed heavily, taking his keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. He had barely crossed the threshold when his phone rang. Instead of answering, he threw the thing onto his counter and went to take a shower.

Once he was clean, he dressed in a pair of track pants and a MIT t-shirt and sat down at his typewriter. For a while he just stared at it, going over the mess his life had become over the past day and a half.

Not only did his mother know the DiNozzos before he was born, but if it wasn't for her sleeping with Senior _he_ wouldn't even exist. To make matters worse, when his mother found out she was pregnant and confronted Senior, he pretty much told her to get out and never darken his doorstep again.

When she met Jack, when she had him, she could have easily told him Jack wasn't his father. She didn't have to tell him _who_ his real father was, no matter how much he asked, but at least tell him he wasn't a McGee by blood. It would have been something to hold onto while he was growing up. Knowing he had another father out there. A father who didn't have ridiculous expectations he just couldn't compete with. A father he could never seem to please; who was never proud of him.

To top all that off: Sarah wouldn't return his calls, he couldn't bring himself to speak to his mother, and it seemed like he couldn't make a move without the team freaking out. Leaving was starting to sound better and better every second.

McGee was surprised to see he had typed a paragraph. He removed the page from his typewriter and began to read it:

_He had no idea what his true identity was, or who he could have been if he had been told the truth. Would he have wanted to find his real father? Would he have wanted to know this man? Was he turning into this man, now? Silently, fearfully he wondered if he had always been like that man but had refused to see it._

The last line made him stop cold. Was he turning into the cruder side of Senior? He was snapping at his sister, trying to avoid his friends, refusing to speak to his mother, and the bitterness and anger he felt rolling through his stomach left him feeling physically sick. He wondered if he'd hit the bottle next, escape his screwed up life by getting too drunk to care.

He suddenly pushed himself to his feet, rushing across his apartment floor to shred the page in his hand. He stepped away from the shredder, suddenly needing to get out of his apartment. It was stifling, he couldn't breathe.

He slipped on a pair of sneakers, grabbed a hoodie out of his room, and headed out of his apartment. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but he knew he _had_ to get out; had to escape his head. It reminded him of earlier, except this time there wasn't two team members sitting outside his room.

He drove for a while, barely paying attention to where he was going, and was surprised when he ended up outside of Gibbs' house. This would be his second visit in a short span of time.

For a while he just sat in his car, looking up at his boss' place. Everyone came here for help: Tony, Abby, Ziva. Tim always wondered why he never went to Gibbs. He figured it had something to do with Penny. She was always there for him, and because of her he didn't need to go to Gibbs with his personal problems.

But Penny was away. McGee didn't even know where she was, didn't have a phone number to call her, and it was times like these that he wished she'd keep her cell phone on when she was on one of her trips. A part of him wanted to talk about what had happened. While the other part, the one that sounded like Jack ('_McGee's don't waste their time whining about their problems')_ just wanted to let it go.

Whichever part was victorious-to talk or not to talk-Gibbs would respect his decision. And damn it, if the others could come to Gibbs with their problems and worries then he could, too.

Tim opened his door, heading up the walk. He climbed the steps, almost turned around three times, but finally stopped in front of Gibbs' front door. He raised his hand to knock, thought better of it, made to turn around a fourth time, but froze when the door swung open.

"Hey, boss," he said backing up a few steps. Gibbs raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms. "I was just, uh, wondering if I…" McGee trailed off as Gibbs stepped aside, allowing Tim access to his house.

Gibbs silently led McGee into the living room, straight past the couch and chair, and towards the kitchen. If he wasn't mistaken, Tim knew exactly where Gibbs was taking him.

The basement hadn't changed much save for the missing boat. McGee couldn't remember the last time Gibbs started making a boat. There _was, _however, a half built dollhouse sitting on Jethro's work table, some wood working tools hanging above his work bench, and a half-empty bottle of bourbon sitting on the table's surface.

Gibbs pointed at the lone stool, walking towards the work bench. He emptied out a nail container, filled the jar about halfway, and handed the jar to McGee. Clumsily, the younger man took the jar, murmured a quiet 'thanks', and watched as his boss poured some bourbon for himself and leaned against the work table.

For a while they just sat in silence. Not wanting to be rude, McGee took a gulp of the bourbon and ended up spitting it back into his jar, coughing. He swore Gibbs smirked as he took a drink from his own coffee mug.

McGee studied his jar for a while, eyes slightly unfocused, but finally he took a breath and said, "I'm not handling this well, boss."

"I know," Gibbs replied softly.

"It's just," McGee started, putting his jar down, "when I try to process what happened, all I can think about was 'I was lied to.' And, I know, technically Tony was lied to, too, but his father had an excuse; a poor one at that but still an excuse. He didn't believe I was his kid. Why would he tell his son he could have a sibling if he didn't even know who I was or _if_ he was my father?" Tim knew he was rambling, but it felt good to get all this out.

"And I don't exactly have the greatest relationship with my father. It's pretty much nonexistent. I mean, he never abandoned me like Senior nor did he try and kill me like Eli, but he set these impossible standards that I just couldn't compete with.

"And now this test-this stupid, fucking test-could strain my dad's and my relationship even more." McGee chuckled once, humorless, and softly asked, "Do you know what he said to me when I told him I started working full time at NCIS?"

"What?"

"'_I guess a Navy cop is better than nothing_.' Really? Better than nothing? I give him what he wanted, I'm helping the Navy as a NCIS agent, and he still isn't proud of me. Sometimes I wonder if he'd even _be_ happy if I did decide to join the Navy," he muttered bitterly. "And I know being raised by Senior probably wouldn't have been any better. But…" McGee trailed off, sucking in a deep breath. "Didn't I deserve to know the truth, boss?"

Tim picked his jar up, taking a second sip. It went down easier that time, and he took another drink. "I _did_ deserve to know the truth," he answered his own question, draining the rest of the bourbon with one gulp. He made a face as he put his jar down again.

He eyed the bottle questioningly, Gibbs nodded, and McGee poured a little more into his jar. "It's not like the truth was going to traumatize me," he continued drinking some more. "I mean, I was a fricking tough kid. You don't get bullied your whole life and not get tough. I mean, yeah, I couldn't fight real well, I still can't, but I knew how to let things roll off me. That's why Tony doesn't really bother me with his teasing. Or not all the time anyway." He drained the rest of his drink, his head feeling like it was swimming.

"I would have liked to have an older brother, too," he continued to ramble. He noticed Gibbs move the bottle out of his reach, "to help with the bullies. Tony woulda kicked ass."

"Come on, McGee," Gibbs said softly, helping Tim off the stool.

McGee's legs felt like jelly, and had it not been for Gibbs' grip on him, he would have fallen to the floor. "God, Tony would totally call me a light weight," he grumbled as he was helped up the steps. "I guess I'm not like my father after all, huh?"

"No, McGee, you aren't," Gibbs responded, depositing Tim onto his couch. McGee lay back, covering his face with his arm. As he drifted off, he thought he heard Jethro say, "You and Tony are much better."

**NCIS**

Gibbs' phone rang. He sprang from his kitchen table, abandoning his paper, and grabbed it before it could wake McGee.

"_Boss, hey, have you seen…?"_

"He's here, DiNozzo," Gibbs interrupted and could hear the sigh of relief.

"_He's gotta stop doing that, boss. Ziva can't keep worrying for McLosehimself." _Gibbs smirked when he heard a soft thud and a muttered, "_Ow."_

"He's fine." He knew Tony was going to say something else. "He doesn't need you guys hovering either. Go home. You two can talk to him in the morning."

"_Gotcha,_" DiNozzo responded after a few seconds hesitation. "_Night boss." _Gibbs grunted in response and hung up. He glanced back at Tim, who had turned onto his back. It was times like these that Jethro truly realized just how young Tim McGee was; thought about just how much he had been through in the past nine years.

There was only so much one person could take before they cracked completely. And damn it, Jethro would try his hardest to stop that from happening to McGee.

**NCIS**

**I tried to avoid 'McGee getting drunk' and replaced it with 'slightly buzzed and rambling' McGee...****I explained it better to my beta.**

**Anyway, thanks ever so much for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are awesome. In fact, *cyber fives* for everyone :) (Have I mentioned I'm a dork?)**

**So, thanks for reading, let me know what you think, and I'll catch ya in the next chapter.**

**I own nothing.**

**PEACE OUT...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Again, a big thanks to my beta 26hannah26.**

**NCIS**

He knew he shouldn't have been there, Gibbs told him to go home, but this was one time he just couldn't stay away. A major part of him knew he had to be there, regardless of the consequences. Despite the mixed feelings Tony had about McGee going to Gibbs, they were brothers and Tony _should _be there.

Their boss may be gruff and hard to read, but the older man allowed them to talk out their problems, break them down. He didn't always contribute, verbally, to the conversation, but Jethro Gibbs was always there for his team. McGee made a good choice going to Gibbs, and Tony knew this… logically.

However, the emotional part of Tony-the part he kept locked up tight-was feeling a little bitter and angry. They were in the same boat, dealing with the same stuff. Why didn't Tim come to him? They were brothers whether they liked it or not (DNA test be damned). Tony always had Tim's back despite his attitude sometimes (though, if DiNozzo were being honest, the attitude had died down some in recent years). McGee should have been able to come to him with this. They should have talked it out.

But they wouldn't have. Even if McGee _would_ have come to Tony, even if he wanted to talk about this whole screwed up situation, Tony would have pushed him away. It was the Dinozzo way after all.

Besides, how could he tell McGee that his worry for the kid grew tenfold the moment Cecelia dropped the ball? How could he tell Tim that a small part, buried deep down, was in denial? That that same part was hoping the DNA test came back negative so everyone could go back to normal? If he said any of that out loud, with the exception of the first, Tim would probably never speak to DiNozzo again. Or worse, agree with him.

And really, who was he kidding? Regardless of the results, nothing was going to return to normal. The moment Cecelia told Tony the truth, the moment her dirty little secret spread to the entire team, was pretty much the end of normal.

Tony pulled himself from his thoughts and shut his car off, pushing the door open. He walked towards his boss's house, the door opened a crack. It was scary, how Gibbs always knew when Tony was coming over. He pushed the door fully open, stepping into the familiar place.

"Hey boss," he said quietly, standing in the entryway between the foyer and the living room. Gibbs grunted but didn't look up from his paper. "I know you told me to go home, but I'd thought I'd stop by…"

"Turn the lights off when you leave," Gibbs replied, folding his paper, taking his glasses off, and getting to his feet. He walked past Tony and slowly climbed the stairs.

DiNozzo turned, noticing McGee slowly sitting up on Gibbs' couch**, **his hair sticking up all over, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Hey," Tim mumbled, swinging his legs off the couch and settling them on the floor. Tony nodded, moving across the room to sit in Gibbs' easy chair.

The two brothers sat in silence for a while, Tony torn between saying 'I'm glad you're okay' and 'How could you be so stupid?' One would make him sound like a girl while the other would probably result in an argument between the two.

Before he could say anything Tim took a breath and said, "I'm sorry."

"What?" DiNozzo was taken by surprise, his green eyes locking on McGee's face.

"I'm guessing you're here because you couldn't get a hold of me," Tim continued, looking at his hands. "You know, rule number three and all. Or, one of them.

"And, I suppose, I could have come to you, but I wasn't even aware I was coming here until I wound up here. And really, would we even have talked? I'm sure one of us would have backed out at the last minute." Tony was surprised his and McGee's mind had gone to the same place.

"So, I'm sorry for worrying 'Ziva.' Because we all know 'Ziva' would show up at Gibbs' whether the boss told 'her' to come or not. Am I right?"

Tony shook his head, a smirk appearing across his face. "I'm not that transparent," he replied, crossing his arms. McGee snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm not."

"Whatever you say DiNozzo," Tim muttered behind a yawn. They fell silent again, McGee laying his head against the cushions. He sighed and quietly said, "I just realized no one's really asked you how you're doing."

"I'm fine," Tony lied, giving Tim a forced smile.

"If you're sure," Tim replied skeptically.

"I am."

"Uh-huh."

"I mean, as screwed up as this situation is, you and me won't change. You'll still be my Probie…"

"…and you'll still be my pain in the ass," McGee muttered and he grinned when Tony glared at him.

"You're both a pain in the ass," Gibbs' voice said from the top of the stairs and both started laughing.

"We love you, too, boss," Tony called back.

"So, we're good now?" Tim asked curiously when DiNozzo looked back at him.

"We're good," Tony replied softly.

"Good, because I really don't feel well." he held his stomach, DiNozzo noticing for the first time that he looked paler than usual.

"It's the bourbon, kid. You shouldn't drink it unless you're used to it." Tony stood up, offering McGee his hand. "Come on, I'll drive you home. I'm sure Gibbs can give you a lift back here tomorrow to get your car."

Tim took Tony's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. DiNozzo grabbed his arm when he started to list to the side, helping to keep him steady.

"Nigh boss," they called together as Tony used his free hand to flick the switch to turn the lights off. As they walked towards the door, he heard McGee mutter, "I'm glad you're my brother."

Chuckling softly, Tony whispered, "Me, too, McBro."

**NCIS**

Over the next couple days, McGee managed to apologize to Sarah and Ziva, and finally come to some understanding with his mother. He still wasn't one-hundred percent happy with her, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever fully forgive her, but at least he was making progress.

He, Ziva, and Tony were in the middle of a paper ball fight, started by Tony. McGee was attempting to defend his honor, Ziva was trying to keep the papers from hitting her face, and Tony was just being his usual self. Had Gibbs not gone to get coffee they wouldn't be doing this, and they knew they only had a small window of opportunity.

A paper ball just managed to miss McGee's ear, and he readied himself to throw it back at Tony, when two things happened. One, Abby came tearing out of the back elevators with a piece of paper in her hand. And two, Gibbs came rushing out of the elevators and towards his desk.

"Grab your gear. The other team needs back up," he shouted,grabbing his gun and badge from his desk, ignoring the paper scattered across the bullpen.

"But Gibbs…" Abby spoke over the others as they scrambled around collecting their things.

"Not now, Abs," Jethro responded, moving towards the elevators.

"But I have the…"

"Later Abs," Tony replied as the rest of the team chased after Gibbs. They piled into the elevator, the doors closing on Abby saying, "I'll keep it on your desk."

Gibbs broke several traffic laws on his way to the other team. McGee almost lost his lunch twice, Tony had turned a very nasty shade of green, and even Ziva looked a little nervous. Apparently, her driving didn't rival with this.

When they made it to the shoot out, the other team was pinned down behind their vehicles while the suspects shot at them from the abandoned building. There had to be six guys, two of them having already been taken out.

Gibbs spun the wheel to the left when a bullet flew at their car, barely managing to miss a bullet to the windshield. The whole team piled out, Ziva and McGee scooting across the seat to get out Tony's and Gibbs' side.

"What have we got?" Gibbs questioned as they rushed to the other lead agent's side.

"Gibbs, we were expecting three guys and eight showed up," Addams responded peeking over the edge of the car to fire off four shots. "Grayson's down, Nixon's arm is bleeding pretty bad, and I'm almost out of ammo."

Next to him, Tim could hear Ziva and Tony checking their SIGs. He copied them, silently calculating where each guy was, where he had to aim, and just how many bullets he had to use. It was the same thing he did before every shoot out. A mental pep talk so he didn't start to think about the possible ramifications.

Gibbs motioned for Tony and Tim to go left while he, Ziva, and Addams went right. They nodded, splitting up into groups. McGee and DiNozzo took cover behind some old, metal barrels, while the other team were ducked down, four yards away from them, behind a dumpster.

"On three," Tony whispered and McGee nodded. "One, two…"

"Three," they said together and popped up, opening fire on the perps. Tony, Gibbs, and Ziva managed three fatal shots, McGee wounded another, and Addams' shot knocked the fifth from the fire escape.

There were now two guys left, the odds were in their favor, but as Tony and McGee ducked down to reload their guns Tim felt a white, hot pain explode through his head. The force knocked him to the ground, his already aching cranium connecting with the hard, earth and sending him into a sea of darkness.

**NCIS**

**So, yeah, I brought in the Timmy whump. Does that make me a bad person? :D**

**So, thanks ever so much for the reviews, alerts, and favoriting last chapter. You guys are amazing and I can't thank you enough.**

**Drop me a comment if you can, thanks for reading, and I still own nothing.**

**PEACE OUT...**


	10. Chapter 10

**A huge thanks to 26hannah26 :)**

**NCIS**

Between Tony and Ziva, they managed to take out the last two perps. DiNozzo looked David's way, giving her a smile, but was surprised when he noticed her sprinting towards him looking worried. He laughed, "Hey, McGee, look Ziva was worried about us." When he didn't get an answer, he looked around and felt his heart stop when he noticed Tim lying on the ground.

"No," he whispered dropping down next to his brother. "No, no, no…" This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Blood was pouring from the side of McGee's head, dripping onto the ground into a small puddle. Ziva knelt down next to Tony, both reaching out to check Tim's pulse at the same time. Their hands knocked together, and David changed directions to the wound while DiNozzo rested his fingers against McGee's neck.

A strong, steady pulse beat against his fingertips and Tony nearly passed out with relief. This wasn't like Kate, McGee was still alive.

"It just grazed him," Ziva commented slowly, pointing the wound out to DiNozzo. "But I think he hit his head when he went down."

"Ambulance is on its way," Gibbs informed them as he settled down next to the younger two. "When did he go down?"

"Uh…" Tony ran a shaky hand across his face, trying to recall when exactly McGee was standing next to him and when he wasn't. "I don't…" he couldn't remember. Why couldn't he remember? And how did he miss McGee going down in the first place?

"He was hit before we took out the last two," Ziva informed Gibbs, giving Tony a worried look. The older man nodded, his eyes resting on DiNozzo, too.

"Hey," Jethro said softly, resting his hand against the back of Tony's head, "he's going to be fine." Numbly, the younger man nodded, looking down at Tim again.

Soon a siren wailed in the distance and an ambulance parked itself a few feet from the small group while another one drove a little ways to attend to Grayson and Nixon.

"How long has he been out?" the EMT asked as he knelt down next to Tim. Gibbs and Ziva stood, while the former gently grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Only a short time," Ziva replied as the EMT shined a penlight into McGee's eyes. His partner dropped down next to him, strapping a neck brace around the downed man's neck. Carefully they loaded Tim onto a stretcher and pushed him towards the ambulance.

Tony seemed to snap back to reality, quickly chasing after the EMTs. "Hey," he called and they turned in unison, giving him a questioning look. "H-he's my brother. I want to ride with him." They nodded together and Tony watched as they loaded McGee into the bus before following one EMT into the back.

"We will follow," Ziva called and he nodded before the back doors were closed.

**NCIS**

Abby burst into the waiting room, her heart slamming against her rib cage. She had gotten the call from Ziva, almost had a panic attack, and nearly crashed her car going speeds that rivaled Gibbs', but managed to make it to the hospital in one piece.

"Okay, someone better tell me what the hell is going on with McGee," she demanded looking from a slightly worried Ziva, to a hard to read Gibbs, to a very pale Tony. "Oh my God, he's going to be okay, right?" she asked, feeling her panic attack slowly start to come back. "He's not dying…" she could feel her eyes beginning to sting with unshed tears.

"Abs, he's going to be fine," Gibbs responded softly. She nodded, slowly lowering herself into an empty chair just as Ducky and Palmer rushed into the room.

"Is he…?" Ducky started looking at everyone.

"He's going to be fine," Gibbs repeated.

"They are running a few tests," Ziva informed everyone, her dark eyes settling on Tony. "The doctor wants to be sure, but he is certain Tim will be fine."

"Did anyone call Cecelia?" Abby questioned softly.

"I did," Ziva replied, holding up Tim's phone. "She and McGee's father are on their way."

"What about…?" Abby trailed off, glancing over at Tony.

Tony had yet to say anything, his eyes locked on the floor. It was so unlike him, he usually was one of the first to try and assure Abby everything was going to be fine. She wondered if he were hurt, too, and just hiding his injuries. Should she call him out on it, make him get checked out? But he looked fine. Of course, didn't he always look alright? He was a master at hiding his injuries, next to Gibbs of course.

Cecelia raced into the waiting room a few minutes later, Jack hot on her heels, cutting off Abby's erratic thoughts. She looked at every team member in turn before focusing her attention on Tony. "What happened?" she asked slowly.

"He was shot," Tony responded in a quiet voice, his eyes still on the floor.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jack questioned, his eyes two dark pools of worry.

"He should be," DiNozzo replied in the same tone.

"Thank God," McGee Senior muttered with a sigh of relief, running a hand through his hair.

"How did this happen?" Cecelia inquired, this time addressing the entire room and not just Tony.

"I'm sorry I wasn't watching him!" Tony snapped pushing himself to his feet. "You want to blame someone, blame me!" and he stormed out of the waiting room, disappearing around the corner.

Abby looked over at Gibbs; the older man watching the empty hallway with guarded eyes. He was worried, Abby could tell. She was, too. And, if she interpreted Ziva's worried look correctly, they weren't the only ones.

"Was Agent DiNozzo responsible for getting my son shot?" Jack asked, looking at every single NCIS employee.

"Of course he did not," Ziva snapped, her dark eyes flashing with anger.

"How could you ask that?" Abby and Jimmy demanded simultaneously.

"Jack, Tony would never do that," Cecelia said softly, resting a hand on his arm.

"I wasn't suggesting it. It's just the way he was acting…" Jack trailed off obviously knowing he said the wrong thing. He took a seat in a chair close to the door, Cecelia sitting next to him.

They sat in silence up until a doctor approached them. The NCIS employees all got to their feet, gathering around the McGees, who had also stood up.

"Where's Agent McGee's brother?" the doctor questioned, looking for Tony.

"He's not here," Cecelia spoke up, "but I'm his mother."

"Well Mrs. McGee, like I told your oldest son, Tim is going to be fine. He'll have a headache for a couple days, and possibly some memory lapses, but as long as he takes it easy, he'll make a full recovery."

Abby's heart slowed at that news. She had heard the others tell her Tim was going to be fine, but to have it confirmed by a doctor made it really real.

Behind her, she heard Ziva murmuring words in Hebrew, while Ducky whispered, "Thank God."

"Can we see him?" Jack asked curiously and the doctor nodded.

Cecelia and Jack were led out of the waiting room. Ziva hurried to call Sarah while Jimmy and Ducky promised to come back later after work. That left Gibbs and Abby standing in the waiting room.

"Tony blames himself,doesn't he?" Abby questioned, already knowing the answer. Before Gibbs could respond she said, "You have to go talk to him, Gibbs. Tell him it wasn't his fault. I mean, he didn't shoot Timmy. And he didn't tell that man to shoot McGee. You have to…"

Gibbs placed a finger over Abby's lips and softly said, "I know, Abs." He lowered his hand, kissed her forehead, and walked out of the waiting room, leaving Abby alone. She stood by herself for a good three seconds before she turned on her heel and hurried down the hall to find Ziva.

**NCIS**

Gibbs found Tony back at NCIS. It wasn't like he was surprised or anything, Gibbs was probably the only person who knew DiNozzo better than anyone. The younger guy was sitting at his desk, looking down at a piece of paper in his hand. Gibbs walked across the bullpen, stopping next to Tony's desk.

"It's been an exciting day, boss," DiNozzo said quietly still staring at the sheet of paper. He looked up, waving the page. "The test results," he stated with a humorless smile. Across the top, in Abby's handwriting, was:_Congrats Guys!_

"Positive," Gibbs grunted.

"Yep, positive," Tony repeated, putting the page down and running his hands down his face. He buried his face in his palms, breathing deeply. "I haven't been that scared since the day Kate was killed," he admitted lowering his hands. "For a split second, I actually thought I lost him. I mean, I barely have a brother for a week, and he goes and gets himself shot.

"And I know it was just a graze, but what about next time?" DiNozzo glanced at the DNA results again, the bullpen lapsing into a heavy silence. "I didn't even see him go down, boss," he whispered, breaking the silence. Tony scrubbed his hands down his face, taking a deep breath. "He was two inches from me boss. Two fricking inches, and I didn't see him go down."

"This isn't your fault," Gibbs commented softly.

"I know, boss," DiNozzo mumbled sniffing, "but…"

"DiNozzo, what were you expecting to do? Jump in front of the bullet?"

"Maybe, or at least push him out of the way. Stop all this crap from happening." He buried his face again. Gibbs slowly crossed the room and slapped the back of his senior field agent's head. The younger man peeked through his fingers at Gibbs and asked, "What was that for?"

"Tony," Gibbs said softly, crouching down to look DiNozzo in the eyes. "You can't predict when something is going to happen." _If that were the case,_ he finished, silently to himself,_Kate, Paula, and Jenny would still be alive. You'd have never gotten the plague. And I never would have lost Shannon and Kelly._

"Besides, McGee is going to be fine," Gibbs told the younger man. Tony made to open his mouth, respond, but the elevator doors dinged and he snapped it shut.

Senior stepped off, followed by an escort, and strode towards Tony and Jethro. The former lowered his hands, his eyes darkening slightly, and stood up. He snatched the results off his desk, moving around it to block his father's path.

"Abby left a message on my cell phone," he started completely oblivious to the look on his son's face. "I missed her call while I was talking to this…" the older man trailed off, his eyes settling on the paper in Tony's hand. "Is that the…?"

"Congratulations, Dad. It's a boy," Tony snapped and pushed past his father towards the elevators.

"What happened?" Senior demanded, turning to look at Gibbs.

"Why don't you ask your sons," Gibbs deadpanned before following Tony's footsteps, leaving Senior standing in the middle of the bullpen.

**NCIS**

**Yep, the results are in :)**

**I tried to get more of Tony in this chapter (one person threatened to quit reading if I made the story anymore Tim-centric (I swear I wasn't trying to make it Tim-centric, he's just easier to write for than Tony sometimes)) which is why McGee barely makes an appearance. But I promise he'll be back next chapter, with dialogue, so sorry for the lack of Timmy.**

**I was debating whether to keep going or do a sequel. I could easily keep going, maybe add some Tony whump. Or double brotherly whump. I just don't want this story to drag out to the point where everyone gets bored and quits reading... Ah well, I think of something.**

**Anyway, thanks so, so much for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting. I know I replied to every signed in review last chapter, just curious if you guys like that way or me thanking you all as a collective... And I just realized I am asking _way_ too many questions.**

**I'm gonna go before I ask anymore.**

**Thanks for reading, I own nothing, and I'll catch ya in the next chapter.**

**PEACE OUT...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A big thanks to 26hannah26 :)**

**Oh, and thank you to everyone who stuck up for this story. I was expecting more 'quit whining' reviews and not the support you guys gave me. I was just having a bad day when I updated last. Anyway, thank you.**

**And for everyone else who left a comment, thank you, too :)**

**I own nothing, please enjoy, and I should go.**

**PEACE OUT...**

**NCIS**

McGee woke to a pounding headache and in desperate need of some aspirin. He tried to wrack his brain, figure out what had happened prior to him waking to wherever he was. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten a good chunk of the past few days. He had never, ever been this hung over before.

"I think his hand moved," he heard a familiar voice whisper.

"Is he waking up?" another familiar voice asked.

"I don't know. Let's find out," a third recognizable voice responded.

"Tony, what are you doing?" the second voice questioned.

"Hey, McSleepyhead," the third voice whispered, close to his ear. "You better wake up. Abby and Ziva have taken their clothes off and are dancing for you."

"Tony!" the first and second voice exclaimed and McGee heard two thuds as if someone had been punched.

"Ow! What?"

"You know what," the second voice muttered darkly.

Okay, Tim had had enough. He forced his eyelids open, automatically slamming them shut when the light above him pierced his eyes and drilled into his skull. His head gave another nasty throb, sending nausea through his gut.

He forced his eyes open a second time, managing to keep them open, and saw Tony, Ziva, and Abby hovering over him.

"Oh my gosh, he's awake!" Abby squealed, clapping her hands, sending a second spike of pain through his skull.

"Ah, Abbs," he groaned, clutching at his head with his left hand.

"Sorry," Abby whispered. She threw her arms around him, hugged him tightly, and then pulled away and lightly punched him in the arm. "You scared me," she scolded.

"We are glad you are okay," Ziva informed him giving him a small smile.

As one, they turned to look at Tony, who was lingering in the background. They gave him an expectant look, and McGee's eyebrows furrowed at their behavior.

"Tell him," Abby insisted nodding at Tim.

"He just woke up," Tony informed her.

"He is going to find out eventually," Ziva stated crossing her arms.

"Tell me what?" Tim asked curiously looking at everyone in turn. Were his injuries worse than the throbbing head? Did something else happen? Had he lost an appendage or something?

McGee pushed himself up, ignoring the tilting room, and started searching his body. His stomach was clenching worse than anytime he had been on a boat, his head was thudding painfully against his skull, and his vision was screwing up, but he had to know if he was missing anything.

"Whoa, Tim, calm down," Tony exclaimed, catching the younger man as he starting listing to the side. "What's up?"

"I'm missing something aren't I? I can't remember why I am hurt, but I know I am. It's my legs isn't, or one of my arms. I can't type if I'm missing an arm. Well, I can, but not…"

"Hey, calm down," DiNozzo repeated gently pushing the younger man back and raising the bed. "I promise you aren't missing a single body part."

"A-are you sure?" McGee asked feeling queasy. He breathed deeply, trying to keep himself from throwing up.

"Yeah, we're sure," Tony replied smiling. It slipped a few seconds later, worry flashing in his eyes as he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm…" a plastic basin was shoved into his lap seconds before he vomited. He thought he was going to get sick again, but fortunately the nausea passed. He closed his eyes, hearing a hissed argument, the unmistakable sound of 'rock/paper/scissors', and a whispered swear word before the basin was gently taken from him.

"I will empty this," Ziva said and McGee opened his eyes to see the ex-Mossad agent carry the basin, at arms' length, into the bathroom. "This is disgusting," she called through the open door.

"You lost," Abby and Tony said together as the water turned on.

"So…" Tim trailed off, thinking he was going to throw up again, but it was a false alarm. He took a breath and tried again, "So, what did you want to tell me?" He felt like such an idiot, panicking like that, but they were being so secretive. What was he supposed to think? Of course, he had his fair share of things kept from him, he shouldn't be that surprised. And then it hit him.

"The test results?" he whispered letting his eyes flick from Abby, the newly returned Ziva, before they settled on Tony. "But I thought we took that test yesterday?" And now he remembered his memory wasn't the best at that moment.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Tony asked furrowing his eyebrows. Ziva and Abby flashed him identical looks of worry.

"We'll worry about that in a minute. If you say the test results came in, what did they say?" Tim would rather get this news out of the way first; before he found out he had been unconscious for a week and had missed a huge chunk of time.

"But Timmy…"

"No, Abbs, you were so excited for him to tell me earlier." McGee turned to DiNozzo, met his eyes, and said, "Seriously, DiNozzo, what did they say?" He had to know if it was true or not. He didn't see why his mother would lie, but he still had to know.

"Positive," Tony replied as he took a folded piece of paper from his jeans pocket. He handed it to McGee and stepped back, watching as the younger guy unfolded the piece of paper. The page that pretty much confirmed he was only a McGee by name.

He heard Abby whisper, "We'll leave you two alone." He didn't see Ziva and her leave the room, but he did hear the door close.

For a while the room was quiet. Tim studied the page, already having memorized what Abby had highlighted. His mother had told him he was Tony's brother, but to have the confirmation, in his hands, was a different story.

"Believe me, I was just as freaked as you," DiNozzo stated breaking the heavy silence. "I mean, we already knew, but to have the proof, right there in front of you…"

"W-where do we go from here?" McGee asked breaking his gaze away from the results to look at Tony.

"I guess we could, I don't know, have a movie night when you get sprung from here. Maybe get a beer when you get better." Tony shrugged, "If you want."

Tim nodded slowly, looking back at the results. For a second the words blurred. McGee blinked in hopes of clearing his vision, but instead two tears dripped from his eyes and rolled down his face.

**NCIS**

When Tony heard the first hitched breath, he didn't know what to think. It wasn't the end of the world. Yeah, Tim was lied to and had actual proof in front of him, but he didn't have to start crying. Then DiNozzo realized: _holy crap, McGee is crying._

"Hey, what's wrong?" DiNozzo asked cautiously. He barely knew how to handle a woman when she cried, but to see his little brother (that had a nice ring to it) completely breaking down was new to him. Tim shook his head, keeping his eyes downcast as fat drops fell from his eyes.

Tony walked closer to McGee's bed, lowering himself next to the younger man. He hesitated for a second, before slowly wrapping his arms around Tim. For a second, McGee tensed up, but he surprised Tony when he rested his head on DiNozzo's shoulder.

For a while, though a little uncomfortable at first, DiNozzo held on tight as McGee's body jerked against him. Each new hitched breath, each new bout of tears, stabbed at Tony's heartstrings and it took all his self-control not to break down with Tim.

When the sobs broke off into silent tears, Tony took a breath and whispered, "If I were in your shoes," he ran his hand up and down McGee's arm, "I think I'd react the same way."

"N-no you w-wouldn't," McGee hiccupped, his body still shaking against Tony's.

DiNozzo didn't respond. He wasn't actually sure how he would react had their roles been reversed. If had been lied to, and he found out his father wasn't really his father. That a virtual stranger had been the reason he had come to be. Of course, he spent a majority of his life wishing he did have another father.

In fact, DiNozzo agreed with Cecelia and Jack. They should have kept Senior from McGee. It was wrong to lie to him, yes, but they were protecting their son. And, had Tim been raised by Senior like Tony, DiNozzo would have tried his hardest to protect his little brother from their father.

DiNozzo cleared his throat, getting to his feet. "I, uh, I should check on the others," he said nodding towards the door.

"Y-you don't h-have to leave," Tim murmured scrubbing at his eyes.

"I'll be back," Tony replied softly,already heading towards the door. "It's just… Your parents were staring at Dad like they wanted to kill him." DiNozzo heard McGee give a watery laugh, forced his own chuckle, and ducked out of the room. Before closing the door he turned back, met Tim's eyes, and softly said, "I'm glad you're okay."

Once the door was closed, Tony leaned against it breathing heavily through his nose. He couldn't afford to lose it, this wasn't the time. His vision blurred slightly, and he swiped at his eyes furiously. Why was he so upset? Just because McGee got a semi-better childhood than he did; yeah, Jack McGee may have been a hard ass, another Gibbs, but he could never be as bad as Senior.

He ran his hands down his face, sniffing. It wasn't Tim he was upset with anyway, at least not fully. It was mostly the situation. Other than a moment here or there, he had never really thought about having siblings.

Yeah, he sometimes wondered if his father ever had a slip up, but never enough to go and find out. He had high enough security clearance, he could have probably found a long lost sibling if he dug hard enough. But he never had the initiative; he had 'siblings' he cared deeply for, he never wanted any more. But now, he had proof he had an actually, flesh and blood sibling.

When he looked at that page for the first time, when his doubts had been confirmed, it took him a few minutes to wrap his head around everything. Hell, he still hadn't completely wrapped his head around what had happened. He was more preoccupied with the shooting. Tim had gone down and he, Tony, had missed it. What kind of Senior Field Agent-nay big brother-was he if he didn't even see his little brother get hurt?

He sniffed again, running his hands down his thighs. He needed to get a grip; this wasn't the place to be thinking about these things.

Once he got a hold of himself, he headed back to the waiting room. When he stepped through the doors, he could feel the tension before he even heard the argument.

"…shouldn't even be here," McGee Senior spat.

"He's my son," DiNozzo Senior snapped back.

The two men stood a good three feet from each other, Gibbs hovering behind Tony's father while Cecelia stood behind Jack. Abby and Ziva were standing on either side, watching the argument with worried stares and furrowed eyebrows.

"He stopped being your son the moment you threw him and his mother out of your house!" Jack shouted taking half a step towards Anthony. "He doesn't want anything to do with you!"

"Right, because he wants to continue his relationship with people who lied to him," DiNozzo Senior retorted and Tony knew his father had struck a chord.

DiNozzo raced forward just as the fists started to fly, and managed to take one to the eye. It was lights out for a good seven seconds, and when Tony came back to himself he heard Gibbs say, "…I should arrest you both for assaulting a federal agent, and I don't care whose son he is, either. Now, if you can't act your age then get out." Gibbs was looking at the two older men and Cecelia, just waiting for them to say another word. "Now both of you go cool off and don't come back until you can act like civilized adults."

Senior wanted to stay, he wanted to say something, but Tony could tell he wasn't going to get his words out. So, he flashed his son a look of apology before walking out of the waiting room after the McGees.

"Are you okay?" Ziva asked curiously, crouching next to Tony.

"I'm fine," DiNozzo replied pushing himself to his feet, trying to ignore the stinging pain around his eye. He knew it would be swollen shut by tomorrow. "How the hell did that start?" he asked looking at Gibbs.

"Cecelia wanted Senior to leave, but he wouldn't. So, Jack stepped in and they began arguing," Abby replied when Gibbs didn't answer and Tony nodded. He could see that DiNozzo/McGee stubbornness kicking in, making them act like two dogs fighting for a bone. It was something Senior would stick his foot in, regardless of the consequences.

Though, if Tony really looked at it, he could see his father's side of things. Tim was his son, but did he really have the right to see him? He had abandoned him, just like he abandoned Tony; except, Tim had been ignorant of Senior for twenty-some years of his life. And here come those thoughts again.

"How's Timmy?" Abby asked obviously sensing Tony really needed a topic change.

"He's…" Tony nearly lied, but he thought better of it. "I think he needs you to go see him," he said instead and Abby nodding, racing off to see McGee.

Ziva seemed to sense something as well because she stated, "I will check on him as well." and she wandered away after flashing Tony a worried look.

For a while the waiting room was quiet and then Tony said, "Boss, I don't want to talk about it. Can we please not talk about it?"

"Wasn't asking you to," Gibbs responded softly.

"Thanks." DiNozzo was quiet for a moment but he finally turned to his boss and asked, "Who hit me?" Gibbs didn't answer, but the look on his face told Tony all he needed to know. DiNozzo nodded, looking at the floor. "I don't blame them boss, for keeping Tim from our father. I can never blame them for that."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Jethro replied slowly.

"But I can't blame him for being angry either," Tony stated silently. "I-I'd be angry, too. You know? Getting lied to like that." He wasn't lying, but he wasn't one-hundred percent truthful either.

He flashed back to earlier, in the hallway. He now knew that he would have killed to be in McGee's situation. At least, when he was growing up; he could have easily discovered his father, the bastard he was born to, wasn't his real dad. Or, maybe his mother could have taken him away from his father, and had him raised by someone else.

Then he remembered what Cecelia said when she first told him about McGee being his brother: '_And it killed me to leave you there, it really did, but I didn't have proof of how big of a bastard he was. It was my word against his…"_

He wondered if he would have liked living with the McGees. He'd have been living with Gibbs before he met Gibbs, or a version of Gibbs. That's when he truly realized just how close he could have escaped Senior. Had Cecelia had proof, had she been able to sway a judge, he'd have lived a completely different life.

His father was different now, or, well, less Senior-like, but back then he was awful. And Tony could have escaped him. He could have grown up around his brother, around a little sister, and around a family who might not have always been loving, but seemed to at least be there.

Tony felt a hand settle on his shoulder, and he made a show of pretending to scratch his nose as he rubbed at his eyes. That was all he needed, to show weakness in front of Gibbs.

"I'm being stupid, boss," Tony whispered running a hand down his face.

"You're not," Gibbs pointed out quietly.

"It's not like time travelling Deloreans exist boss. I can't go back and fix any of this. I-I can't make it better for anyone."

Anyone else would have thought Tony was talking about McGee, but Gibbs wasn't anyone else. As a few more tears fell down his face, he felt the hand squeeze his shoulder. He may not be able to change the past, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let it affect his future.


	12. Chapter 12

**A huge thanks to my beta 26hannah26. *cyber five* :D**

**NCIS**

After a long day of visitors, the nurse finally told everyone to leave Tim alone. He was actually glad to see everyone go. If it wasn't Abby clinging to him, it was Sarah yelling at him for _almost_ dying. Then he had to deal with his parents, both torn between wanting to know about his physical well-being and his emotional.

Senior hadn't visited at all. McGee wasn't sure if it was by choice or if his parents were making him stay away. Either wouldn't surprise Tim in the slightest. In reality, he wasn't sure he wanted to see Senior anyway. Now that he knew, and after hearing the few stories Tony was willing to share about their father, McGee didn't know what to say to the man.

The one person Tim wanted to see, however, hadn't come back. McGee wasn't sure if something had come up or what, but Tony was MIA. He had asked Ziva and Abby where he was, and both had assured Tim that DiNozzo was okay. McGee sensed they were hiding something from him, but when he tried to wheedle it out of them, they changed the subject. He was beyond frustrated with them, but he was also a little frustrated with himself.

Tim felt like he had to apologize to Tony. He had had this breakdown, right in front of his older brother, and hadn't even bothered to ask Tony how he was doing. They were in this together, they were brothers, and even though they didn't like to share their personal feelings, this was the one time they should do the healthy thing and actually talk.

A knock caused McGee to jump, and he looked up to see Senior standing in the doorway. It was an awkward few seconds before the older man walked into the room.

"Hi," he greeted smiling, sitting in the chair next to Tim's bed.

"Hi," McGee repeated, not returning the smile.

The room lapsed into a heavy silence, neither looking at each other. Finally, Senior took a breath and said, "So, I'm you father."

"I got the memo," Tim replied softly causing Senior to smile again.

"That sounds like something Junior would say," the older man commented under his breath. The room fell into another long silence, Senior studying McGee. Tim really wished the older man would stop looking at him; it was getting kind of creepy.

"You get the green eyes from my mother's side of the family," Senior commented softly and Tim met his eyes. "It's one thing you and Junior share. Though, I'm sure your color comes from your mother." Senior sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I'm sure Tony's told you a lot of things about me."

"No so much," McGee mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"Junior and I…" DiNozzo Senior trailed off, obviously looking for the right words. "Before his mother died, we used to get along great. Maggie… Maggie was the glue that kept our family together. And when she died…"

"…you fell apart," Tim supplied for the older man and he nodded. McGee copied him, looking up to see Tony outside the door, almost concealed by the shadows. He didn't say a word, just allowed their father to continue speaking.

"Too much alcohol, too many women, too much work; I was a mess," Anthony continued softly. "I wasn't father of the year, not by a long shot, and when your mom told me she was pregnant, I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want another mouth to feed, another burden."

Anger jolted through Tim's stomach. Had Senior just called Tony a burden? DiNozzo was a lot of things, but he sure as hell wasn't a burden. McGee opened his mouth to correct the older man, to let Tony know he cared enough to defend him, but Senior cut him off:

"I sure as hell don't feel that way now. Without my help, Junior turned out to be a better man than I ever could be. And, so did you, Tim.

"I know your father, McGee, can be a hard ass (believe me I know), but he was there. He raised another guy's kid without a second thought. And I don't blame your mother for not telling you about me. She knew what kind of man I was, and I could tell, had she had the proof, she would have taken Junior, too.

"Recently, I've started to wonder what would have happened if she had taken Tony. I mean, Cecelia, your mom, was one of a kind. She called me on my crap, even when I used my best stuff. I was surprised when she finally…" Senior let his words die and Tim was so glad he did; thirty or not, he did not want to talk about his parents' sex lives. "Your brother wouldn't have had to worry about me disinheriting him; he wouldn't have had to go through the crap I put him through."

McGee glanced at Tony, the older man's face unreadable. He wanted so much to say something, let Senior know his eldest son was listening to him, but before he could open his mouth, Tony caught his eye and shook his head. So, McGee kept quiet.

"Tim, every day I regret what I put your brother through. Of all the stuff I did to him. I know he'll never fully forgive me, I'd be surprised if he even half forgave me, but I still hope one day he will."

McGee opened his mouth again, ignoring what Tony wanted, ready to tell Senior to turn around, but Tony had already disappeared from the doorway. Tim wondered why he didn't stick around, why he didn't say anything, and the more he thought about it the more it made sense.

"Why didn't you say any of this to, Tony?" McGee asked slowly, and Senior looked him in the eyes.

"Junior wouldn't listen to me," Anthony responded with no hesitation. "And I wouldn't blame him. I'm surprised you are listening to me."

"I'm kind of stuck here," the younger man retorted and held up the arm with an I.V. sticking out of it. "Besides, I'm not the one you should be saying these things to. Tony might surprise you and actually listen. I'm not saying everything will magically get better, that he'll forget his messed up childhood, but at least if he heard this stuff…"

"I hit him, Tim," Senior whispered and McGee felt his stomach clench. He had heard Tony's stories, but to hear the words leave Anthony's mouth, to get a confession from the older man. Tim wasn't so sure he wanted the older man in his room anymore.

"What?"

"Today, I hit him," Anthony responded softly. "McGee and I got into it, Junior stepped in, and he managed to get hit by my left hook." And that explained why Tony hadn't come back. He didn't want McGee asking questions.

Tim opened his mouth, unsure what he was going to say, but was cut off when Senior jumped to his feet. "I should…" he cleared his throat, running his palms down his slacks. "I should go. Maybe you should get some rest." He nodded and then rushed out of the room.

**NCIS**

Tony waited until his father had left McGee's room before returning. When he walked into the room, Tim's face went from surprised to concern in six seconds flat.

"Is that where he…?"

"Yep," Tony replied lowering himself into the unoccupied chair. "I would have returned sooner, but…"

"I get it," Tim said softly. It was quiet for a few seconds then McGee asked, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Senior was on a roll, Tim," DiNozzo stated, shrugging. "What was the point interrupting him? Besides, he gave me the same speech last Christmas. Save for the whole '_I hit him_' stuff. That was a new one."

"But he said…"

"Great thing about cell phones, McGee, they make drunk dialing a whole lot easier," Tony responded trying and failing to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"So, he told you he wanted my mother to raise you?"

"That was new, too," DiNozzo admitted, interlocking his fingers and resting them against the back of his head. He was going for casual, but a part of him was still fuming over his father's speech. He and Tim were not burdens, they never were burdens. Only in the eyes of Anthony Senior were they anything remotely close to burdens.

They were quiet for a while. Tony studied his fingernails, noticing one was black from a week ago. He couldn't remember if he slammed it in a door or something else. It had to be something else; he would have recalled an accident with a door.

"Look, about earlier," Tim started and DiNozzo looked up to see an uncomfortable look cross his brother's face.

"Don't worry about it," he replied holding his hand up when McGee opened his mouth to say something else. "Seriously, just let it go." The younger guy wasn't the only one to have a (for lack of a better term) 'breakdown.'

"How are you doing?" McGee asked after another heavy pause.

"Fine," he said shrugging. Tim threw him a look, and Tony muttered, "Fine-ish. It's not exactly fine, but it's better than crappy." The silence that followed was their longest yet, and Tony wished McGee would say something, anything, and was relieved when the younger man broke the deafening silence.

"You know, I wouldn't have minded if we grew up together," McGee commented with a smile. DiNozzo returned it, but didn't trust himself to speak. If he opened his mouth, he'd agree with Tim, and then they'd have some type of 'sharing moment.' He wanted to open up more; really he did, but not tonight. Not when everything was so fresh in their minds.

A nurse walked in a few seconds later and told Tony he had to leave. He offered her a smile, and the nurse melted. "Okay, ten more minutes," she said softly, smiling back.

"Thank you, Parker" DiNozzo responded glancing at her name tag. "That's a pretty name," he flirted and the nurse giggled before leaving the room.

"You've got to show me how you do that," McGee said when Tony sat back down.

"Time and practice, little bro," DiNozzo informed the younger man, grinning when he rolled his eyes. "Maybe someday I'll teach the DiNozzo secrets."

"Someday, huh?"

"Yes, someday. I have thirty-three years of brotherly duties to make up for and I plan to use every spare minute doing just that." The two brothers laughed quietly, and the room fell into another long silence.

Tony broke the silence this time. He cleared his throat and said, "Are you ever going to forgive your parents?"

Tim was quiet for a second, DiNozzo watching him closely. He had gotten pretty good at reading people since becoming a cop. Tim may have been good at hiding his emotions from his face, but his eyes were always a dead giveaway. DiNozzo could see a sea of emotions in his brother's eyes: uncertainty, a touch of anger, and a dash of understanding.

"She was protecting you, Tim," Tony said softly trying to reach the 'understanding' part of the younger man. "I would have done the same thing if I had been in her shoes."

"But what if the roles were reversed, DiNozzo? What if you were in _my_ shoes?"

His earlier thoughts crept back up on him, and it took all of Tony's control to push them back. Not yet, not tonight. "We're different people, McGee. We'd act totally different," he opted to say. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the truth either.

"That's bullshit," Tim replied shaking his head. "But if you don't want to tell me, I can't force you."

"Until recently I wanted another dad," DiNozzo blurted out and McGee's head snapped up. "I meant…" there was no fixing this. He meant what he said, and a part of him didn't want to lie. "It's just…" how was he going to explain this?

"I know exactly what you mean," Tim whispered nodding. "I would have killed to have another father, to find out that Jack wasn't my dad, but now…" McGee trailed off, biting his lip.

"Now that you have it, you're not so sure you want it," Tony supplied for him and McGee nodded. "It's not weird to feel that way, McGee. Hell, I'd probably feel the same way. To be raised by one man, to love the guy no matter what he does, only to find out you've been lied to. I don't blame you for your doubts, but…"

"I know," Tim muttered nodding his head. "She was protecting me. They both were." McGee ran both his hands through his hair, wincing when his fingertips nicked his wound. "I've heard it a dozen times, and I don't blame them for it."

"But…"

"They should have been able to trust that I could handle the truth," McGee said quietly.

The nurse reappeared before Tony could say anything, and that time he had to leave the room. He stood up, hesitated for a second, and then rested his hand on the uninjured side of Tim's head. He met Tim's eyes and quietly said, "Sometimes it's better to let the little things go than to dwell on them."

"A movie quote?" Tim asked curiously.

"No, a brotherly quote," Tony corrected softly. "I'll pick you up in the morning."

**NCIS**

Tim sat up for a while, thinking over everything Tony and Senior had said. He was torn between what was right and what he wanted. He wanted to continue to blame his mother and father, to just hold onto the anger he felt until it consumed him. It was the easier choice.

However, what was right was to forgive Cecelia. Her reasons for lying weren't the greatest, but at least she cared enough to keep him away from Senior. She probably hadn't thought her plan through, but he had to cut her some slack. She had barely been an adult when she had him, she was letting emotions rule over logic. But she did it out of love, not to spite him.

McGee sighed and picked up the phone by his bed. He dialed out of the hospital before dialing his mother's number.

"_Hello,"_a sleepy voice answered on the third ring.

"Mom?" Tim said in a quiet voice.

"_Tim? Are you okay?"_ his mother was wide awake now.

"I'm fine," he assured her quickly, and he heard a small sigh of relief. "I called to apologize," he replied slowly. "I see now, why you did what you did, and I'm sorry for being so…"

"_No, Tim, I'm sorry. I should have told you a lot sooner. It's just, I was scared."_ She sniffed. "_I love you, Tim."_

"I love you, too, Mom."

**NCIS**

**Okay, so this story is almost done. I have an epilogue to do, BUT (come on, there is always a but) I will be doing the sequel. I won't be putting it up for a while, but there is a sequel in the works. And for you 'Hurt Tony' junkies, I will be putting some major Tony whumpage in it. BUT I'll also be putting in McGee whump (what can I say, I am a 'Hurt McGee' junkie)**

**So, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. I do not own anything remotely recognizable (though I am not above begging those that do for ownership... kidding :)). And I have to go.**

**Thanks for reading and drop a comment if you can.**

**PEACE OUT...**

**P.S. To that one person questioning my love for Tony. My love for Tony DiNozzo is not measured in how much I hurt him. It is measured in the fact that when I wrote my Zombie story (which I am sure one or two of you actually read...tops), he was still alive by the end. U****sually**** I do not kill main characters , but when I do I leave the ones I love alive.**

**Sorry, rant over. Bye...**


	13. Epilogue

**A huge thanks to 26hannah26.**

**NCIS**

The party had been Abby's idea. She begged Gibbs to have both Tony and McGee at her place, around noon, that Sunday; she not only wanted to celebrate Tim's birthday, but the fact that they were now brothers.

Gibbs agreed, he could never quite say 'no' to Abby, and picked up both brothers from Tony's place (where McGee had been staying since his release from the hospital) around eleven-thirty. He didn't say a word, no matter how many times they asked where they were going, and was quite certain DiNozzo had convinced himself Gibbs was going to kill him and McGee by the time he pulled up to Abby's building.

"S-so, boss," Tony started barely hiding the stammer in his voice. "Just decided to pay Abby a visit?" he glanced back at McGee, who just shrugged. Gibbs still didn't answer. Instead, he put his car into park, turned the engine off, and opened his door.

Gibbs was halfway towards the building's entrance when Tim and Tony caught up to him. They were having a whispered argument, both trying to convince the other to once again ask Gibbs why they were at Abby's.

The argument followed Gibbs up the steps and outside of Abby's apartment. Finally, DiNozzo cleared his throat and said, "Boss, are you going to tell us why we're here?"

Jethro just smirked and knocked on the door. He heard someone shushing someone else, a lot of scrambling around, and finally Abby's voice called, "Come in!" Gibbs turned the knob and threw the door opened, allowing the two younger guys to go ahead of him.

It was dark inside, and McGee and DiNozzo hesitated in the threshold before walking inside. Suddenly, the light snapped on and a chorus of 'surprise' hit them full force. Abby rushed towards them, giving each a big hug.

"What's this?" Tony asked when she stepped away from him.

"This is a celebration," Abby said excitedly gesturing towards the banners spanning across her living room. One read: 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIM.' While the other said: 'BROTHERS FOREVER.' "I thought why not kill two birds with one stone. You know?"

"Abbs, you didn't have to do this," McGee said softly.

"Of course we did, Tim," Sarah commented standing next to their parents. "It's not every day we inherit a big brother." She grinned Tony's way. He smiled back, shaking his head.

"Well, let's get this party started," Palmer stated, rubbing his hands together.

"You hid the alcohol, right?" Tony whispered to Abby. She just smiled and walked away. DiNozzo turned, looking Gibbs' way. "She asked you to help didn't she?" Jethro just shrugged and walked past Tony, deeper into Abby's apartment.

"I love our friends," Tony commented turning to look at Tim.

"Me, too," McGee replied with a small smile.

"Well, come on, little bro. Let's join in the festivities."

**NCIS**

Tony was coming out of the bathroom when he heard two voices coming from Abby's bedroom. He was torn between listening and just walking away, but when he heard his boss's name he crept closer to the door.

"I mean, Gibbs did have a point," Cecelia said softly.

"So, we're going to act civilized?" Senior asked curiously.

"Why not? I mean, you are Tony and Tim's father."

"I wasn't much of a father," Senior responded under his breath.

"And you've changed… some," Cecelia admitted begrudgingly ignoring Senior's comment. Anthony laughed softly. "Besides, it won't hurt for us to stay friendly. Not friends," she added quickly, "just friendly. For our kids."

"For our kids," Senior agreed and Tony could almost see his father nod.

"Good."

"You know, you still look pretty in the sunlight."

"Good-bye, Anthony," Cecelia said and Tony quickly moved back into the bathroom as Abby's bedroom door opened. Tony waited until he was sure both Senior and Cecelia were gone, before walking out of the bathroom, straight into Tim.

"Hey," he said taking half a step back.

"What were you doing?" McGee asked curiously.

"Nothing," Tony responded peeking over his shoulder. "I was just using the bathroom." Tim nodded, a little skeptical, but decided to let it go.

"Abby was looking for you," he said pointing over his shoulder.

"Then let's go see what she wants, McBro," Tony commented and walked past Tim, grinning when he rolled his eyes. He could get used to having a little brother.

**The end...**

**NCIS**

**Okay, yes this is the end. I want to thank every, single one of you for reviewing, alerting, and reading. For those who stuck with this until the end you guys are incredible and I cannot thank you enough.**

**With that being said, I have actually started the sequel, and am planning to write one more after that. Yes, this will most likely turn into a trilogy, but I could always change my mind. But there is definitely going to be a sequel.**

**As for my beta situation, I may need to find a new one. Hannah may have to go on sabbatical for a while (we are still working out the details), so if you guys know any writers who would be willing to look my sequel over for mistakes please let me know.**

**So, I'm going to go. Thanks again for reading. And drop a comment if you can**

**I own nothing**

**And see you in the sequel**


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